The Lace Masquerade
by DarlingDisaster
Summary: So. A new school. Should be easy, right? Wrong. I'm about to dive head first into my new world as a normal, average teenager. With an Emmy, three novels and a clothing line. Normal. Righhhttttt. Currently Featuring Hollie, Fitz, Clare, Eli and Adam.
1. October 9th, 10:45 PM

_October 9, 2010_

_10:45 PM_

_Location-New house in Toronto_

_Feeling: Anxious ._

_Upside: Near major city-can still act if I want to_

_Downside: Being locked in a house with my momager for three months_

Everyones got a past.

I know I do.

Well, that's an understatement. I've got past_s_. Plural.

And stepping off a plane from LAX at two o'clock in the afternoon, in a rinky dink little city in Canada, isn't really the direction I would have thought my life would be going in. But that's what happened two days ago. And then yesterday…god I get the feeling that's just going to add drama to my new life.

My new life as a normal, average, teenage girl.

Pshhh. Like that's gonna happen.

But I shouldn't feel anxious.

But I do. I've got two days until I start at my first public school since...well, ever, and I feel like I'm about to barf.

Seriously. I wasn't even this nervous at last year's VMA's, when I was on stage with the freaking _Jonas Brothers_.

You would think something so stupid as a new school wouldn't freak me out. But it is. Freaking me out, I mean.

Okay, now I'm rambling . I tend to do that when I'm nervous.

Like I did yesterday! When I went to enroll at Degrassi? I was walking in the hallway with my momager (mom/manager...she has no idea I call her that behind her back), when I literally ran _into_ someone. Like, shoulder meet shoulder, paperwork meet ground type of thing.

"Oh, god," I'd said, trying to keep my blush down. Cause, you know, I totally blush all the time. NOT. I never blush. EVER. The last time I'd blushed was, like, four years ago, when Sandra Bullock complimented my dress at the Golden Globe's when I went with my dad. But I blushed because not only had I dropped my paperwork, but when I bent down to pick it all up, I met a pair of ice blue, piercing eyes. Eyes that belonged to, I'd noticed once I finally stopped staring, an incredibly hot, incredibly charming boy.

Let me tell you something. I'm fifteen years old, but I've been in the same room with every Hollywood hunk from Efron to DiCaprio, but this guy...god. This guy was...amazing. He had that perfect side part, with shaggy hair. And he was wearing a skinny tie! A skinny tie! That right there was twenty extra points in my book.

"I'm so sorry," he'd said, trying to gather my transcripts and papers. I just kept on blushing, and grabbed what I could.

"No, it was totally my fault. I'm a klutz. It's been known to happen."

"Klutziness is cute." Oh yeah, that totally helped me _not_ blush. I finally looked up again, and the guy was grinning, holding my paper out to me. I stood out of my crouch, and took them.

"It isn't when you fall off stage on an international awards show." He raised his eyebrows at me, a confused grin still plastered on his face.

"Awards show?" I shook my head.

"Long story."

"I like long stories." His hand went towards me again. "Declan Coyne. And you are?" I smiled as best I could, tucked what I hoped was a frizz free dark curl behind my ear, and shook his hand back.

"Hollie Peterson." Recognition flashed over his face, and then he grinned again. I was worried he was going to flip out, like everyone always did when they recognized me. But luckily, what he said was relatively calm.

"Hollie," he restated. Then, without letting go of my hand, he steps back and gives me a once over. "See, you look like a Hollie. The name better suits you than my ex." I laughed.

"I'll be sure to let my parents know that their choice in names is appreciated finally. I've always thought it sounded a bit porn-star-ish." Now it was his turn to laugh.

"So our new student is not only a celebrity, but an adult film star in the making?" I grinned back.

"Oh yeah. I'll be selling millions by next year." I dripped sarcasm, but he seemed to be okay with it, and quipped back.

"You can sign me up for the first copy." And que, the blush. Again. "And you can sign me up to be your tour guide. You start Monday, right?" He nodded down at the paperwork in my hand.

"Yep. That is, if my mom doesn't send me packing back to LA by then. She's already ready to leave." And as if on cue, I heard the click-clack of my mother's heels on the floor.

"Hollie, come on, dear. We've gotta finish unpacking." I rolled my eyes.

"That's my cue."

"I'll see you around, then?" Declan asked, his eyes seeming to search my face. I smiled as widely as possible.

"You can count on it. Maybe I'll take you up on that offer of a tour." I smiled, winked, and used my signature hair flip, which never, ever fails to dazzle, and finger wave at him before walking out, head held high, sunglasses perched on my nose.

So, apparently I have a tour guide for Monday? Things already look like they're gonna be interesting, and I haven't even started at the school yet.

Two more days, and I'll be a normal, high school student. Well, as normal as an Emmy winning, record producing, fashion designing novelist can be.

Two more days, and I'll be back in the halls of Degrassi, with other Sophmores, just like me.

Two more days, and I'll get to see Declan.

Oh god, I think I'm gonna hurl.


	2. October 11th, 11:49 AM

_October 11, 2010_

_11:49 AM_

_Location-English_

_Feeling: Confused_

I'm used to people staring.

Really. I mean, I can't walk down the streets of LA without some small child or fully grown man (CREEPER ALERT) coming up to me, begging for an autograph or picture. I know it sounds conceited, I do, but I'm sad to say it's true, not only for me, but for most celebrities.

But when I stepped out of my car (which had finally arrived from LA, in all its baby blue, retractable top, hybrid glory), adjusting my dark navy blazer over my white lace tank and dark jeans, the stares I got from people all around me were, in a word, overwhelming.

I know, the first thing your thinking is "Why they hell is a fifteen year old driving?"

First off, it's called a hardship license. You know, when one of your parent's isn't around all the time to drive you? Yeah, that would be my dad. He was always too busy on the set of his TV show or meeting with studio execs to drive me anywhere. And God forbid I should let my mother drive me around all the time. The entire car ride, all she does is nag nag nag, or, the alternative, which I consider to be way worse, which is play her bad 80's music (and not the good kind, either) until I think my ears are going to bleed.

I finally threw enough fits about it to where she drove me to the DMV and I got my hardship license, only two weeks after turning fifteen earlier this year. I have my diva moments, but they're carefully controlled. I only like to pull that card out when I absolutely have to.

Secondly, and most importantly, do you have any idea how shit public transportation is in LA? I mean, seriously, there are NO decent trains or subways, and the bus system…not exactly on my time table. So being able to drive in LA is kind of a necessity.

Anywho, back to the stares.

The first person to glance at me was a tall, dark skinned girl with short curly hair, gripping her phone as if her life depended on it, and typing on said phone at about million words per minute, just shy of my record two million. She looked up from her phone mid as she walked, seemingly just to glance up to make sure she wasn't about to run into anything, and then stopped dead in her tracks, her mouth hanging open. Then, she gathered the attention of the girls surrounding her, who all stopped. To stare. Really? Really, guys? Is it necessary?

Aparently so, because just then, there was a loud wolf whistle from one side of the lawn. I ignored it, and started walking towards the front doors, but then, there was another one. I glanced to my left, and there was a guy with long, dark brown hair, kind of greasy looking, with a baseball cap, and his also baseball cap clad friends, sitting on a bench under a tree. I rolled my eyes and moved along. I could feel eyes boring into me as I made my way to the steps, narrowly dodging a football that flew about three inches in front of my face (a tall boy with brown hair covered with a ball cap called out "Sorry!") and I finally got there, and heard a car pull up behind me, a door open, and then someone spoke, obviously in my direction.

"Well look what we have here." I turned around, and met that same pair of startling blue eyes I've been thinking about for the last two days.

"Declan!" I'd called out, and then ran to give him a hug. He seemed surprised, but hugged me back. It's how we do things in LA. Though, mine might have been just a bit over the top.

"Good to see you again," he said, smiling. And then, someone else stepped out of the black car behind him. Someone I recognized. It was Fiona. A friend from a fashion design school in London, where I took classes over the summer two years ago. She got out of the car and saw me, and her eyes widened.

"Hollie!" She raced forward and hugged me, like I had to her brother.

"You two…know each other?" Declan looked confused, and I laughed, glancing at Fi. She was decked in an outfit similar to mine, dark jeans, a black tank top and cropped white blazer, with her hair down and loose, gorgeous, as always.

"I went to UAL for some summer classes a few years ago! Fi was in my design and marketing classes." Fiona smiled.

"Last I heard you were in New York?"

"Didn't go so well," she answered. But there was a flash of something in the back of her eyes. Hurt, I think. "Well, it'll be good to have someone else who knows how to dress here. Everyone else is so…Canadian." She rolled her eyes.

"Fashionably challenged, gotta love 'em." We both laughed. And that would be when a kid on his skateboard rode by, glanced up, and then, without even stopping, crashed onto the sidewalk. Don't ask me how he did it. I have no idea. But just like…SPLAT. "Oh my god!" I ran to help the kid, not knowing what to do as he rolled over, looking like he was…crying? "Are you okay?" I knelt down, tucking my hair behind my ear. And that's when I realized he wasn't crying. He was laughing.

"I'm fine, I'm fine." He stopped laughing long enough to say "I just, I could have sworn I just saw…" He opened his eyes, and when he saw me bent over him, they bugged out. Like, a lot. "Hollie Peterson." I rolled my eyes.

"Well, you did." I held out my hand, and he grabbed it, looking suspicious, and then hoisted himself up. "You sure you're okay?" I ask asked, as he seemed to wobble on his feet.

"I'm cool," he said, looking down. "But how did you…I mean what are you…why are you..." I couldn't help but smile. This guy was cute-_in a way_. With long (skater-ish) brown hair, and deep brown eyes. But somehow, I got the impression, even then, that this guy wasn't a typical skater/stoner. He didn't look like a lot of stoners did back in LA (while most of my friends back home had done pretty much every illegal drug there is, and a lot of the legal ones, I hadn't really felt like…loosing control. It held no interest for me). He seemed a bit older than me too, maybe by like a year.

"To answer your question, I'm actually-

"On her way to start her tour." I felt an arm snake around my shoulder, and looked to see who'd interrupted me. Even though I knew the voice already. The sharp blue eyes that had been so inviting to me, were now glaring in the vague direction of the boy in front of me. "You still wanted to do that, right Hollie?" I nodded. "See, K.C. Some girls can be agreeable. Especially when you don't walk all over them," he said, and then continued. "Or their hearts." I raised an eyebrow, and the kid who I assumed was K.C. rolled his eyes.

"Get over it Declan. That was last year, and Clare and I are friends now." Then Declan rolled his eyes back, just as a short girl with short, choppy reddish/brown hair came up, clutching books to her chest as if bullets were about to come speeding towards her.

"Hey guys," she said, glancing between the two boys. But her smile faded when she saw the glares they were wearing. "What's going on?"

"Just a little friendly conversation," Declan said sweetly. I looked at both of them, and then, did the first thing I could think of.

"Hi!" I said brightly, extending my hand towards the girl. "I'm Hollie. Hollie Peterson. And you are?"

"Clare," she said, looking a bit taken aback. But she shook my hand anyways. "Clare Edwards."

"K.C.," the boy next to her said with a small wave. I smiled at both of them.

"It's nice to meet you both. But I do think we should get going…this is a pretty big school, from what I've seen." Declan, seeing how awkward I felt, smiled, and then led me away, smile I waved at the two people behind me. I questioned him as to what that was all about, but he wouldn't answer me.

He and Fiona gave me a ten minute mini tour of the school-everything from the gym, to the theatre, to the caf (which they warned me not to eat from, and I'm not planning on starting, since I brought my lunch of Chevy's microwavable Spanish rice and a steak and pepper burrito), and then finally dropped me off at my locker. The entire time, stares from the few students that were actually in the school followed us like glue. It was slightly discerning, having all these people looking at me for just walking down the hall. But I'm used to it.

"So, I guess I'll see you later?" he said, and looked as he was about to blush. BLUSH. This guy, this OLDER guy, was about to blush.

But he didn't. He just looked down at his feet as I stumbled to find words.

"Yeah, sure. I'll try and find you at lunch?" The smile when he looked up from his feet made my heart melt.

"That'd be great. I'll see you later." He flashed me another smile, and then started walking away.

"Hey Declan?" He turned around when I called his name, students running around on either side of us. "Thanks for everything." There was the blush.

"No problem." And with that, he disappeared into the oncoming crowd, 90% of which was stopping to stare at me. I turned to my locker, ignoring it, and opened the door with the combination, throwing my lunch in and closing the door.

"Hollie, right?" I turned on my heels and saw the dark skinned girl from outside, only this time she had a posse of one, not ten.

"Uh, yeah."

"I'm Chantay, and this is Anya," she said, gesturing to the girl behind her. I gave them both a once over. Comparatively to the girls outside, these two looked a little more…normal than the others. Meaning, they looked more like people I would actually be seen with. I'm not trying to be mean or anything, I swear! But the amount of god-awful Capri pants and too-tight tank tops I'd seen outside was enough to make anyone cringe. Chantay was in a stylish pair of dark wash jeans and a mandarin colored ruffle tank, with a green belt at bust line and a blue chunky necklace and blue ballet flats. Anya, on the other hand, was in a similar pair of jeans, but a floral tank instead of solid, with a dark cropped denim jacket and black gladiator sandals.

All noted in 1.2 seconds, I might add.

"Nice to meet you," I said, shaking the hands they held out. "I love your belt," I commented, gesturing to the one Chantay was wearing.

"Thanks!" For a minute there, it looked like she blushed, but regained composure. "Listen, we just wanted to introduce ourselves before everyone jumps on you. The people here can be a bit…" She looked around the hallway, and then rolled her eyes. "Immature, when it comes to dealing with high profile people like yourself."

"So I gathered."

"So if you need anything," Anya spoke for the first time, "let us know. We're here to help."

"Starting with your homeroom," Chantay said, clutching her binder to her chest. "Who do you have?" I glanced over the piece of paper I'd been gripping like my life depended on it earlier that morning.

"Uh…all it says is 'Oh.' Like, o-h." Chantay and Anya glanced at each other.

"But that's a Sophomore homeroom," Anya said, as if she were talking to a small child. I raised my eyebrows.

"And? Shouldn't I be with people…my own age?" Chantay's eyes widened.

"We just assumed…you would be a Junior."

"Last time I checked I was still 15."

"But I thought..." Chantay started. "That big birthday bash you had at the beginning of the summer and all..."

"Was so my friends in LA and I could celebrate my birthday a little late before I left town," I said, and threw my hair behind my shoulder. "My birthday is in late February."

"Anya!" The voice came from behind me, and I turned around to look at who was calling the girl in front of me. Another girl, no taller than 5'3, max, came hurrying down the hall in a pair of heels (really? At school?) and a green-ish dress with gold buttons. It was cute, I'd give her that. But a little too…mod for me.

"Hey Holly J," Chantay said, and gave the girl a hurried two cheek kiss. Anya did the same, and then she turned to me.

"Oh, hey." She waved non-chalantly, as if I were some random new kid she didn't care about. And she turned back to Chantay and Anya and started talking like I wasn't there. Then, two seconds later, turned slowly back around. "Hiiiii." She plastered a smile on her face. "I'm Holly J Sinclair. Hollie Peterson, right?" I shook her outstretched hand and nodded, smiling back equally as fakely. "We met over the summer at TVM? You were doing that interview with Kristen about your new album-which I totally loved, _btw_." Yeah. She used abbreviations. I fought the urge to eye roll and thought for a second. I think I actually had met her. Briefly, but I remembered the clearly virgin hair (ie-no added color…or products, from what I could tell) and prep-ish clothing.

"Oh, right!" I grinned at her, trying to play it off as if we were old friends, which is what she was clearly doing. But before I had to do any more faking, the warning bell over our heads rang. I looked at Chantay and Anya, raising my eyebrows.

"Oh's room is over there," Anya said, pointing to a large room on the corner of the hall, where I spotted the girl I'd met before, Clare. I waved thanks to the three girls behind me, and even promised Chantay I'd catch up with her at lunch, before hurrying to catch Clare.

"Hey, Clare, right?" She turned around as I came up, but kept walking into the room. She seemed…surprised.

"Right!" she said in a high, almost squeaky voice. "Uh, hi!" She turned completely, looking at me. "What can I do you for?" I smiled at her and hitched my bag higher on my shoulder.

"This is actually my homeroom." I looked around for the first time, and saw not desks, but a huge computer lab…minus the seats. There we bouncy balls in front of each computer. And people were sitting on them. What. The. Hell? "And I don't really know anyone else," I said, somewhat shyly. "I was wondering if maybe I could sit with you?" She looked surprised again, but smiled.

"Sure!" She looked around, and then her eyes widened. "I think I see three open spots over there." I raised an eyebrow but followed her, setting my bag next to a computer and carefully balancing on one of the balls before I saw her wave down someone, a dark skinned girl in bright clothes, whom she later introduced as Alli, her best friend.

It took ten minutes before the class finally settled down, and Mrs. Oh, a pretty dark haired woman with glasses, walked into the room, followed by a bald guy in a suit that looked a little…giddy. It took me a minute to place him, but I realized he was the man we'd met the other day; the principal, Principal Simpson.

"Settle down, guys!" Mrs. Oh said, and then looked at the man next to her. He stepped forward, and then looked right at me, making a beckinging sign with his hand. The entire class turned to look at me, and I thought I was going to die right there and then.

What the hell? I never get embarrassed. Ever. I'd fallen on national television and laughed about it. But this was making me blush?

"Guys, we have a new student starting with us today. I want you all to make her feel welcome, and like she's one of you-a normal, every day, completely average-

"I think they get it, Principal Simpson." I finally reached where they were standing and turned around, facing the class.

"Please welcome our new student, Hollie Peterson." There was a collective chatter after that-some gasps, a few wide eyed stares. The usual when people realize who I am. But Simpson wasn't done. "Hollie, why don't you tell us a little bit about yourself, and why you decided to come to Degrassi." I gave him my worst look, and turned back to everyone, my hands joining in front of me. Clare and Alli gave me a thumbs up, and I smiled smally at them, trying to decide what to say.

"Uh, hi." That was a _great _start, if I do say so myself. I mean, award winning writer. And I couldn't come up with something better than "Uh, hi." "Well, obviously, I'm Hollie. I'm 15." My mouth twisted from side to side. "I like acting, and fashion…and music." There were some giggles around the room. How was that funny? I don't find that funny at all! "I'm here because…I never got to do the whole normal school thing. I've had so much crammed into fifteen years of life, but never normalcy. So I'm hoping this is my chance to do that." I paused, and gave a glance at Mrs. Oh. "Well, as normal as high school can get." There were a few more laughs, and considering people were actually _supposed_ to laugh at that one, my nerves eased a bit. "I really, really don't want any special treatment. Like, at all. So, just keep on your normal, every day lives as if I weren't here." I smiled, and looked at Mr. Simpson, signaling I was done.

Good start to a day, I think.

Two classes later (after Media Immersion, which was my homeroom, I had Chemistry, also with Clare, and then French II, in which I was stuck being partners with another Sophomore, who introduced himself as "Dave the awesome"), I was walking to my next class, lead by none other than Dave, when Clare looking stressed, came up and looped her arm around mine.

"Look, I know we just met and everything, but I need a huge favor."

"Name it," I said, looking down at her. There was a good half foot in height difference between us, me being about 5'7. She gave Dave a look that plainly said "Get the hell away from us, this is a private conversation," and I laughed, waving him off. He was sweet…like a puppy. A slightly annoying puppy, but a cute one none the less. He left with a sad smile.

"I need you to pull the new card." We continued walking, but I gave her a look, confused. "In Mrs. Dawes class, I mean." I glanced down at my schedule, and sure enough, I had English III next with Mrs. Dawes. Something I'd forgotten till then. And I had the class with Clare, since she was in the gifted program like I was. "Just go up to her and be like 'Since I'm knew, and the only person I know is Clare, could I please be partners with her?'" I looked at her, still confused.

"Is this some clever rouse to say you were English partners with a star?" She laughs.

"Actually, it's go get out of being partners with my current one. For the day at least." She sighed, looking down as we walked, still joined arm in arm.

"Any specific reason?" I asked, shaking her arm. Her sheer, white skin visibly colored, and I laughed. "That bad, huh?" She nodded.

"It's a long, embarrassing story." In the end, I did what she asked. I went up to the teacher, a tall, thin woman with glasses, and introduced myself, and then gave her the schpeal that Clare asked, only in different words. I'm not sure whether it was the fact that I was a star in her classroom, or a start with adults, that lead her to agree, but she did none the less. I sat next to Clare, and realized that we were two out of about four people in the class that weren't Juniors. And as the warning bell rang, I saw Clare look at the door, and then blush and look down at her binder on her desk. I turned, curious, to see a guy look at us, an equally bemused look on his face.

"Who is that hunk of Emolicious meat?" I asked, turning back around to see Clare still staring at her binder like it was going to do some sort of trick on her desk. She shook her head, giving me an exasperated look just as the boy, the very _cute _boy, with long-ish black hair, and donned in the same color, passed my right and sat down in front of Clare. Before I had time to give her a look, he'd turned in his seat.

"Heyyy, partner?" He gave her a quizzical glance, before poking her arm. "Ready to start another rousing essay on gun control?" Clare looked up at him, her face a mix of shock, anger…and was that hurt?

"Not today, Eli," she said, turning back to her books and opening a folder, pulling out a paper. "I'm working with our new student, Hollie." She handed me the paper, and I set it on my desk without looking. This was like a freaking TV show. The tension between these two was obvious. He glanced at me, seemingly unaffected, and then did a double take, a lopsided smirk forming on his face. It was cute, I'd give him that.

"You're ditching me for a Hollywood starlet?" he asked, his hand flying to his chest. "I'm hurt!" Clare rolled her eyes, seeming to have heard this bit a million times over. This guy was sarcastic; it was quite funny, actually. "But I'll get over it." His voice lowered, and he leaned closer to Clare, to the point where I could barely hear him. Barely being the operative term here. "Listen, are we going to talk about what happened Saturday?" he asked, his eyebrows raising. "Cause you ignored my texts, my IM's. I felt like driving Morty by just to make sure you were still breathing."

"Not. Now. _Eli._" She stresses the last part, giving him a cold look, and then turned to me just as the final bell rang. "Here's the other part to the assignment," she started coolly, her voice returning back to normal. And just like that, she froze him out. His eyes flashed the same as hers had earlier. A mix of surprise and anger, with a tinge of hurt. I wanted to know what was going on. Bad.


	3. October 11th, 12:22 PM

**Hey guys! Here's chapter three! I wanted to thank you all for your AWESOME reviews. Three on one chapter! Holy crap! Thanks so much! I left the last chapter on kinda a cliffy, so the beginning of this one kinda explains it all. Also, read my note at the end for more info.**

_12:22 PM_

_Location-Under a tree outside_

_Feeling: Empowered_

I found out! What that whole interlude between Eli and Clare was, I mean.

Once the bell rang to dismiss us for lunch, I literally dragged Clare into the girls room and choked it out of her.

"It's nothing, Hollie, really." She blushed again, and looked at herself in the mirror, adjusting one suspender attached to her skirt.

"Bullshit." She turned to me, shocked. What? It was bull. "There's something going on that I don't know about. I'm glad to play monkey in the middle, but only for the right reasons." She moves her mouth from side to side, much like I do when I'm thinking, and seems to be pondering the idea.

"It's a long story," she says, crossing her arms.

"I have time."

She then proceeded to explain to me that Eli was a junior, he liked Metal Music, and he drove a hearse named Morty (I know right! So funny!). They'd been paired up at the beginning of the year, and since then, they'd become friends. Best friends, actually. But according to her, there'd always been something there. Something underneath everything.

"And so, Saturday, we were all at Alli's house at one of her little 'get togethers,' which, I might add, never go well for me, and he sat with me while I waited for my mom. He made some joke about what would happen if Alli's parents came home and saw her and Drew together, and did a little impersonation of her mom, and we were laughing and everything." She spilled all of it to me, like I was a therapist or something. But I didn't mind. I like being there for people. Especially when it comes to guys. "And all of the sudden, the laughing just…stopped. We both got quiet, and he was looking at me, I was looking at him. I was like we were going to…you know. Kiss." She blushed again, and I giggled. This was getting cute! "And I looked away. I just, I couldn't do it." She sighed, looking down at the black flats donning her feet (which were really cute, I might add!). "I just didn't know what we would be like. Afterwards. We're so different…" She trailed off, and then looked at me.

"Oh god," I said, my forehead resting on my hand. "You guys have UST."

"UST?"

"Unresolved Sexual Tension." Her eyes widened in horror, and I laughed. "It's also called Underlying Sexual Tension. It's a term writers use to describe people in books who have issues that need to be dealt with that involve them…together." She raised her eyebrows at me. "It basically means you two wanna jump each other's bones." She let out a little gwaff, and then covered her mouth in shock.

"I do not want to jump Eli's bones," she mumbled from behind her hand. She held up her left finger, which held a silver Claddagh, or Irish purity, ring. I smiled, and smugly held up my own left hand, which held a similar ring in the same place. I've been wearing it since I was twelve, and didn't plan on taking it off any time soon. Even if I have broken a _few _"rules," I still have my V card. Unlike my best friend back home (hem hem, Marcie). A few of my friends are still virgins though; Dakota (yeah, Fanning), Debby, and Michelle. I bent down, grabbing my bag from the sink, and motioning for her to do the same.

"You just keep telling yourself that, kid." She rolled her eyes, and lead the way to the cafeteria. I grabbed my lunch from my locker, and Clare went to find Alli and tell her that she was eating with me, Eli and someone named Adam outside. Fiona caught me on her way out, saying that she and Declan were having a last minute lunch with their mother, but we made plans to meet tomorrow at some place called "The Dot." I watched as Alli and Clare talked, and Alli rolled her eyes, and then made a gesture that said "go," like she was used to hearing this. I'd agreed to sit with Clare under the condition that she didn't give Eli the cold shoulder, and just dealt with what had happened. There was no point in her ignoring one of her best friends just because they wanted each other with an undying passion, now was there?

We finally sat at a bench under a chair outside, and I spotted Eli working on his car a few feet away. I'd heated up my food, and was about to dig in when a boy sat down across from us. A relatively femininie looking boy, but a boy none the less.

"Hey guys," he said, and the pulled a sandwich out of his backpack. He seemed to realize that I wasn't Eli, and did a double take, much like Eli had earlier. "Oh, hey." He was surprised to see anyone else with Clare, I guess. "I'm Adam." I introduced myself to him, looking him over. Baggy jeans. Knit top with a bill. Baggy jacket. Typical high school guy, I guess.

"Hollie!" someone called. I turned around, to see Chantay and Anya sitting on the ledge near the entrance to the school, waving me over. I sat up, realizing I'd promised to talk to them at lunch, and excused myself from Clare and Adam for a minute.

"Hey guys!" I said, finally reaching them. "What up?" They sat with a few girls, one oh whom was a short blonde, currently chowing down on a banana.

"Just wanted to see how your first day was going so far," Anya said, smiling.

"Pretty good." I leaned against the pillar next to Chantay. "Made a few new friends."

"Oh yeah?" she said, looking at me. "Who so far?"

"Uh," I started, somewhat surprised. "Well, Declan Coyne."

"Resident heart breaker," Chantay said, smiling. "Dated Trish for a while." She gestured to a taller brunette girl sitting further down on the wall. "And then Holly J. Everyone th-

"Whoa." I stopped her, holding my hand up. "He dated Holly J?" I asked. "As in…"

"The one you met this morning, yeah," Anya said. That explained what Declan had said on Friday, though. "Suites you better than my ex" or something, he'd said about my name.

"Geeze. Talk about opposites attracting." They laughed. "I've known his sister for a while, so she's not really new." I thought for a second. "Then I guess it was someone named KC?"

"Sophomore. Football player."

"Good hair," Anya added, nodding her head.

"Who's got good hair?" I heard someone asked. And then noticed KC coming to sit down next to the blonde next to us, his arm going around her shoulder. "Hey babe." He pecked her on the cheek, and she smiled.

"No one," Anya said, looking around. "This is Jenna," she added, pointing to the blonde, who waved. I waved back, and she then seemed to realize who I was. But I ignored her open mouthed stare (ew! Swallow the banana, girl!) and went back to naming people.

"Clare Edwards."

"Cute, her big sister was power squad captain for a while." I glanced at them, confused. "Power Squad is our equivalent to cheerleading," Chantay clarified.

"Oh, okay." I smiled. "Hm…Alli Bhandari, I think it was?"

"Nice one." Anya laughed as she spoke. "I dated her brother for two years. Pretty crazy family."

"Eli Golds…" I stopped, thinking.

"Goldsworthy?" The blonde, Jenna, was the one to speak, and I nodded.

"Yeah, I think so."

"Ahhh," Chantay said, smiling. "One of the new kids this year. Kinda mysterious. He and little Edwards are always hanging out. He's friends with that Adam kid."

"Drew's stepbrother," Jenna threw in. "Drew and Alli are…well, they're something." She laughed, and KC rolled his eyes.

"Geeze," I said, crossing my arms. "You sure know your stuff." Anya rolled her eyes, and Chantay beamed.

"Future Perez Hilton, I know everyone at this school that's worth knowing, and everything about them."

"Really, now?" I laughed. "Okay, lets see your skills." She smirked, looked around, and smiled.

"Well, you picked a nice day, so everyone's outside." She points to a guy in a grey V-neck and vest. "Sav Bhandari. Alli's older sister, ex of Anya. Student body president." She gestures to a group of boys, one of whom I recognize as Dave.

"The Three Tenners, also known as Dave Turner, Wesley Betenkamp and Connor Deslauriers."

"Yeah, I'm Dave's French partner." Chantay gave me a lopsided smirk.

"I wish you luck with that. My cousin can be a bit…odd sometimes." She looks around. "Oh, there are a couple more. Riley Stavros, resident hottie and bachelor number one."

"Followed closely by bachelor number two, Zane Park." Anya sighed. "If only he played for our side." I smiled. Finally. Someone gay. I was starting to worry this school was completely straight. West LA was always fun to visit, so I was glad things weren't so…stark here. I looked around, seeing more people passing by. But according to Chantay, all the important people had been announce. There was a couple sitting on the bench next to where Clare and Adam still were, talking and cuddling. And a football game going on between a few guys out in the street. One of them was tall, with dark, almost black hair, and a little too…built and tall for me. He was cute, but eh. I looked at another one…and my heart skipped a beat.

I know. I feel like I'm writing one of my novels right now. In all seriousness, I've never really believed at love at first sight. Lust, maybe (and there was definitely some of that going on right now), but never love. Even if I have written about it time and time again. The stuttering, the serenading. The romance. All I'd ever been awarded in my life was a few hurried dinners, some make out's in the back of theatres during premieres, an the occasional bouquet of flowers (thank you, Logan :)). So to say that my romance meter is at a pretty despicable low would be an understatement.

But I looked at this guy, this tall-ish, brown-red haired, slightly built guy, and I thought my heart was going to rip out of my chest.

"Who is…that?" I pointed to the guy, trying to act as normal as possible, as if I'd just picked some guy at random.

"Fitz," Anya said, shrugging.

"Just Fitz?" I laughed. "What, is he trying to pull a Madonna and do the whole one name thing?" They both giggled, but Chantay shook her head.

"His name's Mark Fitzgerald. Had a little bit of a…run in with the cops a few weeks ago." My jaw went slack. Cops. Of course. Out of all the guys I'd seen at Degrassi, this was the one that I had to pick. The bad boy.

"As in?"

"Fake ID. Nothing big. But he's kind of an asshole." Chantay rolled her eyes, and then gave me a pointed look. "Why? You like him or something?" Just as she said this, the guy with the dark hair threw Fitz the football, and he glanced over at us, just it time to catch me looking at him. He did a double take to make sure, and then winked at me, a half-smile on his face. I let out an un-ladylike snort.

"As if." I said goodbye to Anya and Chantay, and gave a little wave to KC and Jenna, who were now in full on make out mode (PDA much?), and went back to sit with Clare and Adam, who were talking about an English assignment coming up (I guess Adam is a Junior as well…like Eli, so it was two 11th Grade guys and two 10th grade girls. I feel pretty cool). About a minute after getting back, and having dug into my food, Eli sat across from Clare with a large huff.

"Get Morty running?" Clare asked, holding out a bag of chips to him. She was obviously trying to be normal, cause there was a tightness to her voice.. He took a few and crammed them in his mouth before answering. Typical boy!

"He still needs a few things, but she'll drive for now."

"Good, cause you're my ride home." Eli smiled at her and pulled a tuperware container out of his bag, and then looked at me.

"So you're sitting with us now, eh?" I laughed. He wasn't being rude, and his tone wasn't offending. Anyone else though, and I probably would have slapped them.

"Yeah, I guess so!" I smiled and held out my hand to him. "Sorry I didn't get a chance to introduce myself to you earlier, I was a bit…overwhelmed. I'm Hollie; Hollie Peterson."

"I know. I'm Eli." He shook my hand, and then opened up his tuperware, taking a bite of the pasta inside. "I'm assuming our Blue Eyes here has told you all about me?" He gestured to Clare, and I looked at her before answering. She was looking down, and there was a pink tint to her cheeks.

"More or less." And then she pinched my leg! I tried not to make a noise, but I'm guessing I squirmed away, because both Adam and Eli ave me looks. I laughed, before seeing that Eli wasn't looking at me, but staring off behind me. I turned around to see Fitz with his friends near the other side of the wall.

"What the hell are they looking at?" Adam asked. They were looking at us. Correction; they were looking at _me_.

"Uh, Hollie," Clare started. "Why are they…?"

"No idea," I said, and then turned back around. But inside, my heart gave a little flutter. So, he'd noticed me, huh? "Just ignore them." I smiled, and took a bite of rice. "It's what I do when people stare at me. Which is, I might add, a lot."

"He needs to learn some manners," Eli said, grimacing. "You'd think he would have figured that out after last time." I was intrigued.

"Last time?" I questioned.

"Lets not go into it." Clare said it. Short, sweet, and loud.

"No, lets." Eli gave a little smirk. "I like sharing tales of my sheer genius." Clare, Adam and I all rolled our eyes in unison.

"Someone's cocky."

"Always," he replied to me. I laughed. And he explained what'd happened; Fitz had been screwing with him and Adam (even gone as far as kicking Eli between the legs! Ouch!), so Eli'd made a truce, and ended up making Fitz a fake ID with the stats of a Most Wanted criminal. He wasn't kidding when he said he was a genius. I glanced at Clare while he talked, and almost wanted to laugh. Though she seemed to disapprove of Eli's evil plan, she still had this proud look in her eyes, like the mother of a kid who'd just made the Dean's list.

"Okay, I was wrong. You aren't being cocky. You are a genius." Eli laughed, and put his hand on his chest.

"Why shucks, being called a genius by such literary geniuses as yourself, why, that just makes me feel all warm inside." I couldn't help it; I blushed, and then burst out laughing. Clare laughed with me. But before I could ask him if he'd actually _read _any of my books, Adam let out a little snort. I looked at him, and he was covering his mouth, trying not to laugh.

"Uh, Hollie." He pointed behind me, and I turned around to see Fitz's friends still looking at me. Only this time, Fitz wasn't looking. He was doing pelvic thrusts in mid air, his arms rocking back and for with the motions. I heard faint sex noises coming from the area, and his friends started laughing. I almost wanted to too. The visual of Fitz was pretty damn funny. But it was still kind of…vulgar.

"Damn it…" I heard Eli mutter behind me, and I heard him stand up.

"No," I said, turning back around and standing up from my seat. "I got this." I threw my napkin, which I'd had in my lap, down on the bench, fixed my blazer on my chest, tossed my hair, and turned around, plastering a grimace on my face. I have to admit, I wasn't as pissed as I probably should have been more pissed at Fitz. But I wasn't. And so…I was going to overreact. Just slightly. I mean, if Eli and Fitz really have some sort of…animosity between them, I couldn't have just been like "all well, he's hot, I'll forgive and forget." Eli would have shunned me from the start. And those three were the most genuine people I'd met here, aside from Declan and Fiona.

"Someone's about to get a visitor," the guy with the dark brown hair said, crossing his arms and leaning against the wall. I finally approached Fitz, crossing my own arms and raising an eyebrow. He smirked.

"Is there something I can help you with?" I said snidely. "Because in case you haven't noticed, I'm trying to have a nice, quiet lunch with my friends."

"_Friends_?" Fitz looked surprised.

"Yeah, you know. The people you depend on. They're usually nice to you. And don't make sexual gestures behind your back." I gave him a pointed look.

"Listen, babe, I don't know why you-

"Whoa whoa WHOA." I put a hand up. "I'm no one's _babe_, least of all yours. I don't even know you."

"You wanna?" He raised his eyebrows suggestively, and I scoffed.

"In your dreams."

"Every night." I tried not to gag/jump for joy, and ended up going with an eye roll instead.

"You _listen_, asswipe. I don't know what the hell is going on in that pretty little head of yours but-

"Pretty?" He smirked again, and I ignored him.

"But if you keep at it like this," I said, making the same gesture he had earlier with his hips and arms, and then pulled my phone out of my pocket, holding it up. "I will personally make sure that Morgan Vias, one of the best and **biggest **bodyguards in Toronto, knows that you're harassing one of his clients, and I won't hesitate to give him your full name to look up your address."

"You don't even know my full name," he said smugly, crossing his arms. I raised both eyebrows and crossed my arms right back.

"Wanna bet, _Mark Fitzgerald_?" His eyes went a little wide, and then he looked over at his friends.

"Whatever." He turned around, and then grabbed the football from the other guys' hands, holding it out. "Go long!" I turned around, a grin on my face, to see Eli, Clare and Adam laughing, and Clare gave me a thumbs up.

And then it happened. I was about to step off the curb to walk back across the street, when I felt something _smack _across my ass. I stopped, midstep, and stood there for a second. No. He. Didn't. Eli, Clare and Adam all stopped laughing, and I saw Eli and Adam's eyes narrow. I raised my eyebrows again, andI felt myself smirking as I turned around. Before he could do anything, I grabbed his arm, tugged it forward, and twisted it behind his back, hard, and then kicked him square in the ass, to where he fell on the ground, me still clutching his arm. I thanked God that I was wearing boots as I straddled his back, twisting his arm tighter, and leaned down, close to his ear.

"Did I mention he also taught me self defense?"

**Did you like it? Isn't Fitz a little horndog? Lol. I don't think this is the last we'll be seeing of him though…**

**What did you guys think? Aren't Clare/Eli the best? We might see them work things out about the party in the next chapter, but we'll just have to see :P If you want to be updated on stuff as it's happening with this story, check me out on twitter (HollyClaireee) or on , which is a Degrassi site I work at, along with a few of my lovely readers :)**

**Review, fave, whatever it is you lovely people do! XD **

**XOXO**


	4. October 12th, 9:20 AM

_October 12, 2010_

_9:20 AM_

_Location- MI Lab_

_Feeling: Spontaneous_

"Everyone's talking about you." That was the first thing Alli said to me when I walked into home room this morning.

"About _me_?" I asked, surprised.

"Well, you and Fitz." She laughed, and I set my bag two computers away from hers and then sat on Clare's exercise ball. "It's the latest news on the Anti-Grapevine." I gave her a confused look, and she nodded, clicking the mouse on her computer a few times and then turning the monitor towards me. It was a blog. On the side was a small picture of Chantay, who I assumed was the author…and then the homepage was a picture of me. Straddling Fitz.

Oh. Shit. I copied the article here for you…

**It's About Time**

_The latest is in-Degrassi got the gift of stardom yesterday with the arrival of a new student. But on her first day here at our (not so) fine school, what does she get? Rude gestures and sexual harassment. Luckily, she knows just how to deal with teenage boys, just like the ones in her novels :) _

I can't freakin believe it. Thanks, so much Chantay. No, really. Now that pic is gonna be all over the web, and who would get a hold of it? Everyone. _Wonderful_.

_5:45 PM_

_Location- Bedroom_

_Feeling: Creative_

I think my room needs an update. Seriously. I was thinking of maybe inviting everyone over (everyone being Clare, Eli and Adam, as I don't think Fiona or Declan would be much help with painting) to re-do it this weekend. Like, have a giant sleepover or something and just paint. It's not like Mom would care that I had guys over. It's happened before (not _**that**_way, but Nathan Cress had stayed over once with Miranda-yeah, Cosgrove-after I'd guest starred on iCarly). Plus, my money is what paid for the house.

Lunch today went well. Declan, Fiona and I walked down the street to this modern looking place called The Dot, which I realized is only about five blocks down from the entrance to my neighborhood. Fi and I caught up, while Declan sat quietly chomping on fries and a sandwich. He's actually really cute…for someone who's three years older than me and totally out of my league. Everything was pretty uneventful. English was pretty amusing though, cause Clare and Eli finally got around to "talking." Only after my prodding, though.

"So, anyone you like?" I asked Clare really bluntly, and a little loud, when we were working on our next English assignments. I saw Eli, whose desk was turned around and connected with ours, glance up, and then look back down at his papers.

"As in…?"

"Clare, you know what I mean."

"Yeah, _Clare_." Eli surprised both of us by talking, not looking up. "Who do you like?"

"Uh." She stuttered, and then looked at me, a death glare in her eyes. "No one, at the moment."

"You sure about that?" Eli asked. "Cause it sure seemed like you did Saturday."

"Eli, we aren't talking about this now," Clare cut him down, giving him a pointed look when his head came up. I pulled my earphones out, put them in my ears, and started to bob along to imaginary music-I know, genius. What can I say? Eli isn't the only evil genius here.

"Now can we talk about it?" I heard Eli ask. And Clare looked at him, a glare in her eyes.

"What's there to talk about?"

"You know, that bit on Saturday where we almost kissed?" He put his pencil down and crossed his arms on his desk. "What would you call it?"

"I don't know…an accident?" His eyes flashed hurt, and I wanted to reach out and hug him, and then hit Clare. WTF, Clare.

"So you would call that an accident? There wasn't any reason behind it? Just an accident."

"What would you call it, Eli?"

"I would call it something other than an accident!" He looked frustrated, and his hands splayed out across the desk with a huff. "Clare, you can't tell me there isn't a reason we were this close to kissing." He held his forefinger and thumb less than an inch apart, and Clare looked up from her paper.

"I don't want to talk about this, Eli." She closed her eyes, scrunching her face up, and resting in her hand on her forehead. "If we talk about this, it means it happened. It means it was real. And it means…." She looked at him, and then glanced at me, making sure I wasn't listening. I smiled, and then started humming a random verse from a Selena Gomez song that I knew was on my iPhone. "It means we aren't _just friends_." This seamed to satisfy Eli, but I knew from the determined look on his face that he wasn't done talking about this-not by a long shot.

I wanted to grab Clare and throttle her. Seriously. They were too…perfect. I'd known them for two days, and I could already see that they were meant to be together. They'd known each other for months, and yet they hadn't seen it.

Oh, hold on. There's someone at the door.

_9:28 PM_

I can't believe it. I seriously can't believe I just did that.

After I got off, I went to check the door. I thought it might be a package or something (I ordered a new down comforter and a few dresses online), and didn't even bother to check how I looked. When I'd gotten home from school, I'd changed out of my skirt and black cami and into a plain black tee shirt and some sweatpants, and thrown my hair up into a messy, curly bun. When I opened it though, it wasn't a delivery man.

It was Fitz. Holding a tray of cookies.

"Hey, I'm from down the street, my mom told me to…" And then he looked up, and his eyes widened. "Oh, it's you." My first reaction should have been outrage. _Oh, it's you_ isn't exactly a phrase anyone wants to hear. But It wasn't. My first reaction was surprise. He lived down the street? I'm not trying to sound bitchy or anything. I'm really not. But the neighborhood I moved into wasn't exactly…cheep. From what I'd learned, most of the people on my street were CEO's and business people. And from what I'd seen of Fitz…it didn't really seem like he'd been brought up by a top Business Man.

"Yeah, it's me." I crossed my arms. "Can I help you?"

"I live down the street." He pointed to his left, and I stepped out on the porch. "My mom sent me with these to give to you guys. As a welcome to the neighborhood type of thing." He held the tray out to me, and I took it. "I'll just be…" He pointed back towards his house, looking almost…embarrassed? It was a cute look on him, I'll give him that. Before I could answer, he started walking down the street. I shook my head, and then turned around to go back in the house, but I heard him say "Hey, Hollie?" My heart jumped. He knew my name

Of course he knew my name. It was a stupid thought, but still.

"Yeah." I turned around, and he was stopped on the sidewalk, one hand in his sweatshirt pocket, the other on the back of his neck, rubbing back and forth. I knew that look. Logan used to do that all the time. It was one of those "I don't want to say/do this, but I know I have to" kind of looks that guys do.

"For what it's worth," he started. "I'm sorry about yesterday. I was…out of line." I raised my eyebrows, and held the tray in one hand, the other going to my hip.

"What, did your mommy tell you to come apologize?" He let out a little laugh, and then smiled.

"No, actually. I felt bad…believe it or not. And you did kinda kick my ass. Literally." I smirked. "You left a bruise!" He laughed again, turning around. "Wanna see?" I let out a little laugh then, and he laughed right along with me, turning back around. It got quiet for a minute, and his hand went back to the back of his neck. "You didn't actually call that bodyguard, did you?" I laughed and shook my head. "Good. Well, I better…" He started walking away, and I stood there for a second, watching. I could just let this guy walk away. I mean, yeah, he was kinda a dick. But he apologized! Without prodding from his parents! And…I was alone. So who else was going to help me eat these cookies.

"Fitz!" The word jumped out of my mouth before I had time to properly think about what I was going to say. He turned around, his hands deep in the pockets of his zip-front, smiling.

"Yeah?"

"Listen," I started, my hand that was on my hip coming to my face to push my bangs off my forehead. "I was gonna put some pasta on the stove, but my mom left for a meeting…it's servings for two, and I'm the only one here, so…" I shrugged. "Take is as a peace offering?" His smile widened, and he looked almost…shy.

"You want me to go grab some milk for those cookies?" I laughed and nodded.

"Just let yourself in when you come back." I turn to go back in the house, and when I do, I throw the tray of cookies on the kitchen cabinet. I couldn't believe I'd just done that. Seriously. Asked Fitz into my house. And now…I was making dinner for us. It was irrational, stupid, and I was probably asking to get hit on again. But I didn't care.

By the time he got back and walked in the door with a small container of milk, I was standing at the stove. I didn't hear the door open, nor did I hear when he managed to find his way to the kitchen. I was turning some garlic and thyme in the skillet, trying to toast the garlic, and singing along to the music blaring from my phone on the counter.

_Something 'bout boots and boys_

_Boots and Boys_

_They bring me so much joy_

_Bring me Joy_

_I wear 'em both so pretty_

_As I'm walkin the-_

"Nice moves," I heard someone say from behind me. I stopped, frozen like I had the day before, and felt color rushing to my cheeks. I turned slowly, and Fitz was standing in the doorway with a pint of milk in his hand, his shoulder shaking. "Oh, please, don't stop on account of me. I get the feeling things might get Youtube worthy in a second." I laughed and paused the music, going back to the stove.

"You don't have a problem with garlic, do you?" I asked. He walked to the fridge and put the milk in, and then closed it and leaned against the door.

"Not at all. Why? D'you think I was a character from one of your vampire books? And Jesus, why the heck is it so hot in here?" My shoulders shook as I added the tomatos to the pan, and the grabbed a spoon and stirred the spiral pasta that was boiling. So, he'd read my books, eh? Or at least knew the context of one of them. I glanced around just in time to see him stripping off his hoodie to reveal a relatively tight brown tee shirt. I could just see a bit of muscle stressing underneath it, and the bulges on his arms were _definitely _an added bonus. Dear Lord.

"Well, you did seem somewhat rabid yesterday, making those sex noises and, oh, god, the pelvic thrusts!" I shook my head, and heard him laugh.

"Yeah…sorry about that." I turned to look at him, and caught his cheeks color. "My friends…Owen and Tyler. They're kind of, well…"

"Your typical teenage boy?" The smells rising from the pan were making my stomach rumble. I heard Fitz let out a little laugh, and then he took a few steps towards me, and retreated to lean against the sink on my left, where I could see him.

"I guess so. And they were the ones who started the…pelvic thrusts. But I did it too. And I probably looked just as bad as them...if not worse yesterday."

"Eh, I've seen worse." And I had. LA is pretty crazy when you strip away all the glitz and glamour, and get out of West Hollywood, where everyone is colorful and flirtatious and sweet. "But you were still kinda an ass."

"Again, sorry about that."

"It's not a problem." I turned, and held the wooden spoon I was using in the pan out at him, shaking it like a mother scolding her child. "But don't let it happen again." His hands flew up, and he grinned.

"I won't, I promise!" I smiled and lowered my weapon, and then turned back to the pan. "I still don't get why you're being so nice to me, though." I placed one hand on the countertop, leaning into it. "Most girls wouldn't have kicked my ass and then made me dinner."

"I'm not making you dinner," I corrected. "I'm sharing mine with you." He laughed, and I sighed lightly. "And I don't really know why I'm doing it." I turned back around, and leaned against the counter next to the stove, my bare feet inches from his own (I'm so glad I painted my nails again last night!). "But you seem genuinely sorry. You had the decency to apologize, which is something I don't think your friends would have done." I gave him a pointed look, and then pushed my bangs out of my face again. "Plus, you seem like a sweet guy. And I wouldn't deprive anyone-especially a guy-of my cooking."

"Someone's cocky!" He said the exact same thing to me that I had as Eli. I let out a little giggle, and turned back to the stove, realizing that the stuff in the pan was done and ready for the fresh tomatoes, which were chopped in a bowl on the counter, and pasta the pasta. "Could you do me a favor?" He got up off the sink and took a step towards me. "In that cabinet over there," I pointed to my left. "There's a strainer. Could you grab it and strain the pasta for me?" He did as I asked, pulling the strainer out of the cupboard and then pulling the pot off of the stove. I turned the heat down just as he turned around, and his hip made slight contact with my own sweat pant clad one. I smiled to myself, adding the fresh tomatoes just as Fitz started pouring the water into the strainer.

"Ouch!" he suddenly called. I left the spoon in the pan and went over to where he stood by the sink. The pot was dropped bottom down in the strainer, but the pasta and some of the water was still in it. And Fitz was clutching his hand.

"You okay?"

"Yeah." His voice was tight, like he was trying to be all manly. "Just some hot water splashed back on my hand."

"That's why you do it _slowly_." After a seconds pause, we both spoke at the same time.

"That's what she said!" I looked at Fitz, surprised that we'd both had the same thought at the same time. It was one of those odd, I want to laugh but I'm not sure if I should moments. He let out a little snort, and I finally let out my own unladylike laugh, grabbing at his arm. "Here," I started. "Let me see." He unclutched his hand, and I instantly saw the spots where the water had splashed. There were red splotches covering the side and back of his hand. I glanced at Fitz over his hand, and he was looking at me. More like…studying me. My face, at least. "Let me…" I turned to switch the faucet on, still holding his hand, and then placed it under the water. But when I made a move to let go, his own hand grabbed mine. It wasn't a fast gesture; it wasn't aggressive. But I was surprised, and almost jumped. For a minute, I let it stay there, the water running over both out joined hands, before looking at him. He gave me a small smile, and I did the same back. It was…sweet. And then I remembered. "Crap!" I let go, and went back to the pan just as smoke started to rise from the side, where I'd left the wooden pan leaning against the hot metal.

"That was close." Fitz turned the water off, and carefully shook his hand off of excess water. Then, he picked the pot up and drained the pasta out, before setting it on the counter. "Where're the towels?" I pointed to a drawer next to the sink, and he pulled one out before going to the freezer and pulling some ice out of the drawer.

"Make yourself right at home!" He laughed, and put the ice in the towel, wrapping it up and holding it to his hand as I grabbed the strainer from the sink, and added the pasta to the pan, turning the heat down to low. I took the block of fresh parmasean laying on the counter and the grater, and grated a hunk of cheese on top of the pasta, before putting it back down and tossing it all together in the pan. Fitz watched me the entire time, still holding the ice to his hand. In a few minutes, it was done, and I turned the heat off, and then walked around him to get a couple of bowls out of the cabinet behind him. "'Scuse me." He smiled and moved, and I went back and poured half the pasta in the bowls.

"Bread?"

"Always." I giggled and grabbed a loaf of rosemary garlic bread off of the counter, pulling two slices off and putting them in the bowls.

"Extra cheese?"

"Yes, please." I rolled my eyes at his on-purpose rhyme, and pulled the block and grater off the counter, putting a little more cheese on each of our bowls, and then pulled forks out of the drawer. "Are we eating…?" He gestured to the table in the next room, and I shrugged.

"We could just go sit on the couch." He nodded, and put the ice down on the counter, and I handed him one bowl as we walked towards the living room. We both settled down on the couch, and we sat in comfortable silence for a few minutes as we ate. Finally, when I was half way through my bowl, Fitz said something.

"Where'd you learn to cook stuff like this?" I smiled and took another bite.

"Taught myself." He looked surprised, which pleased me. "I copied the ingredients for this, though, off of a pasta from one of my favorite restaurants back home."

"In LA?" he asked. "Where?"

"California Pizza Kitchen."

"Oh, I've been there!" He takes another bite, and I give him a confused glance.

"They don't have them here. Trust me, I checked." He laughed and shook his head.

"You underestimate me. Most people never get out of here, yeah. But I grew up in the states." I look at him, shocked. "My mom and I used to live in LA. She's a designer-small time, but she does stuff for some big people. She'd been seeing this guy off and on since she and my dad split up, and he got a job out here in TO. They had a short engagement, and then got married a few summers ago. We moved here before my Freshman year." I gave him an appraising look. He didn't _seem_ very Canadian, but then again, the only difference really between your average Canadian and American was overuse of the word "eh" and mispronunciation of "about" and "sorry."

"Doesn't sound like you had much choice in the matter," I said. He shook his head, shrugged, and then shoveled a huge bite of pasta into his mouth. I let out a little laugh, and he swallowed after a minute.

"I didn't, really. But it made my mom happy." He smiled, and looked down at his bowl. My heart melted. Any guy who cares _that _much about their mom has to be decent somewhere inside, no matter how deep down it may be.

"I'm guessing she doesn't know about how you…act at school?" He shook his head again, and then leaned back on the pillows behind him. We sat facing each other on either side of the two cushions, him with his legs criss crossed, mine tucked underneath me.

"It's not just at school." He sighed. "Owen and Tyler…they were the first people I met at Degrassi. They just seemed so…cool and in charge. Last year it was a little different; we had Riley and Blue in the group, and things were a little different. But now, Riley's trying to focus on school and football, and Blue moved back to Regina, so it's just us." He took another bite, and waited a minute before continuing. "They're assholes, I know. But they help run the school. And when we're all hanging out, I feel so cool."

"But you're bullies." The words spill out of my mouth before I can stop them, and I instantly regret saying them. Fitz looked shocked.

"I am not a bully." I looked down at my bowl, blushing, and then back up.

"That's not what I've heard. Eli? Adam? Those names ringing a bell?" He gave me a stressed look, and then crossed his arms. "Fitz, they told me what happened." He looked at his bowl, like I did, and then sighed again, long and hard.

"I'm not exactly proud of what I did. To either of them." He looked at me then, and he seemed to study my face like before, trying to figure something out. "Being friends with Owen and Tyler…it comes with certain…responsibilities."

"That include kicking a guy in the nuts?"

"Sadly, yeah. Hollie, I did those things, yeah. But that doesn't me I hate Eli or Adam. The guys…they look up to me now. And if I don't keep up appearances-

I cut him off with a scoff. He was a chickenshit. Great. Just great. "Fitz, you don't have to do anything you don't want to. And if they really look up to you the way you think they do, then they'll probably follow your lead whatever you do, and that includes maybe being nice to someone for a change."

"I'm nice!" He sits up.

"To me, yeah. _Now_. And to Owen and Tyler, maybe. I just met you yesterday, and my first impression was _asshole_." Not completely true. My first impression was "Holy shit, who the hell is this guy?" but I wasn't exactly about to tell him that, now was I?

"I'm sorry about that."

"Quit apologizing!" I put my bowl down on the floor, and folded my hands in my lap. "I swear, if you do it one more time you're gonna get slapped!"

"I wouldn't be entirely opposed to rough housing." He gave me a little grin, and I knew he was kidding, so I just rolled my eyes.

"Fitz, you're a great guy from what I've seen. You're humanly capable of being nice. Even if it is only to me." His hands, which were in his lap like mine, twisted. I grabbed them in my own, holding them out. "Maybe you can try it with someone else for a change."

Ten minutes later, we were back in the kitchen, and he was helping me out with the dishes.

"So you're _really _friends with Adam and Eli?" He was scrubbing the pan, and I was washing off the bowls.

"Yeah, I'm _really_ friends with them."

"Adam seems a bit off." I looked at him, confused. "I mean, he's a guy, but half the time I've ever seen or talked to him, he talks like a girl. And acts like one." I shrugged.

"Maybe he's just going through one of those awkward stages." He gave me a look, and I laughed. "What? I went through one last year! I practically lived in suspenders for like, a month, completely convinced that they made my boobs look smaller." Okay, Hollie, little TMI. He laughed, though, and continued.

"And Eli just seems so…weird. I mean, yeah, it was cool of him to give us the fake ID's…until I got arrested." I let out a little snort, and he smiled at me.

"Eli is a little weird. But then again, we all are in our own little ways." I put one of the bowls in the dishwasher, and then went to the other one. "Take you, for instance. You act like one person in private, and another in public. And you wove your mommy." He laughs, and flicks a little bit of bubbles from the pan at me.

"Says the girl wearing sweatpants with Goofy on the ass!"

"Uh!" I grabbed some of the bubbles and threw it at him. "So you've been looking at my ass?"

"Maybe I have," he started. "And maybe I haven't." And then the war started. We were flicking bubbles at each other for a solid three minutes, laughing, and he even got the water sprayer from the sink, which I then promptly grabbed from him and stuck down his shirt.

"Hollie!" I heard the door open just as I was trying to stuff bubbles down the back of Fitz's shirt, and ripped my hand away just as my mom walked in the door. She was dressed in a blue skirt and black top, and her dark blonde hair (which I definitely did not get from her, as mine is almost black it's so dark) was spilling out of her messy bun, much like my own. "Oh. Hello."

"Uh, hey Mom." I turned the water off and pulled my shirt down. "We were just…cleaning up."

"And who is this?" She gestured to Fitz. Before I got a chance to answer, though, he stepped forward, holding out his hand.

"I'm Mark, ma'am. Mark Fitzgerald. I live up the street." Mom shook his hand, looking suspsiciously at him. "I brought over cookies." He gestured to the plate on the table, smiling. She gave me a cursory glance, and then a tight smile to Fitz. I wanted to giggle. I know that Mark is Fitz's real name, but he _totally _doesn't seem like a Mark. To me, at least.

"It's nice to meet you, Mark." She looked past him, at me, and continued. "I'm gonna head upstairs. I'm pretty tired…it's been a long day. You two pick up in here; we'll talk later." She smiled, still tightly, before leaving, and then walked out. Fitz turned around, looking like he was about to laugh.

"Well, that was awkward."

It took about ten minutes for us to clean all the bubbles up. Fitz left after another twenty, once we were completely full on cookies and milk. I have to admit; his attitude towards everything only made him that much more likable. But part of me is still wondering if he'll ever actually change, or if my words just fell on deaf ears. Because it's going to take some serious action before I ever look at Fitz as anything more than just someone who I think is likable. If he's beating on my friends…there's no way that'll work.

About ten minutes after he left, I went into the kitchen to grab a glass of water, and realized he'd left not only his jacket sitting on the back of one of our chairs, but a little slip of paper under the plate on the table. I picked it up, reading it over.

_Hollie-hope to see you around._

_Fitz_

_416-531-9618_

I smiled to myself as I slipped the paper in my pocket and grabbed the jacket, hanging it up in the closet. I get the feeling he'll be by to get it some time soon. Very soon, I hope.

**Don't shoot! I know, I know. Not much Eli. Not much Clare. Not much of anyone you know and love. But this was necessary, trust me! I couldn't have you guys hating Fitz as the story went on, now could I!**

**What'd you guys think? Did I turn you guys into Fitz lovers? Or are you still pissed at him?**

**Also, I wouldn't try texting that number for Fitz…it's the number for H&M Toronto XD**

**Rate, Review, Etc :P**

**XOXO**


	5. October 14th, 12:23 PM

**WARNING: This chapter is REALLY long. Like, 10,000+ long. I suggest you hunker down with a drink and some popcorn…. **

_October 14, 2010_

_12:23 PM_

_Location-Lunch_

_Feeling: Cordial_

So finally caved and texted him.

Fitz, I mean. This morning, I was sitting in the MI lab between Clare and Connor, listening to Ms. Oh drag on and on about HTML layouts. As if I haven't known how to design web pages since I was ten, and could spell "default" properly.

_Hey, It's Hollie. What's up?_ It took him a solid three minutes to answer.

_Hollie? What time is it? _ I looked at the clock before replying.

_9:02…why?_

_Shit! I'm late for homeroom . _I hid the smile that rose to my lips.

_Slept in? I'm assuming it was a late night out._

_You can say that again._

_Do I wanna know?_

_Just me and the guys hanging out at the ravine. Bianca and her little friends came along later. I've got a major headache. _I felt a little pang hearing (well, reading…) the name _Bianca_. So there was a girl there? I've seen Fitz in the hall a few times flanked by a tall, skinny girl with super curly hair.

_I'm going to guess that there was alcohol involved?_

_XD Maybe…_I rolled my eyes.

_So while you were getting wasted, I was volunteering at a youth center. Loser._

_I wouldn't say wasted….and why the hell were you volunteering at a youth center? Sounds like a waste of time._

_It wasn't. Clare asked me to come with, and it's not like I had anything better to do._

_You could've come with._

_What, Bianca not woman enough for you? _

_Bianca is…well she's something. But I would have much rather had your company. _I smiled, and looked up in time to see Ms. Oh glance at me.

"Miss Peterson, please put that away." The entire class turned to look at me, and I blushed as I slid my phone in my jean pocket.

We texted pretty much the entire day, with the exception of English and lunch, the times when I saw both Eli and Clare. Somehow, I don't think either of them would be very happy if they'd found out who I was texting.

Everyone's coming over tomorrow, BTW. We were sitting in English a little while ago, and Eli was complaining about not having anything to do this weekend.

"I was thinking about going to Bianca's party at the ravine," Eli started, penning something on the line of paper in front of him. Clare looked at him.

"Wouldn't Fitz be there? I mean, I thought he and Bianca are like…an item." I sat up then, listening. Fitz and Bianca. Together?

"Nah. Bianca's pick of the month is some loser named Ron-Ron. She met him at the Dead Hands concert, and they've been texting off and on." I raised an eyebrow.

"Someone knows a lot about Bianca."

"_Someone _just happened to be there when she got completely smashed and spilled her metaphorical guts to the group. Some literal, too." I let out a laugh. Okay. So Bianca and Fitz; definitely not a couple. "And what does it matter if Fitz is there?" Clare gave him a sarcastic look, and put her pen down.

"Gee, I don't know."

"Ms Edwards, please keep it down!" Mrs. Dawes gave Clare an admonishing look and then went back to writing. Clare bent down, getting quieter.

"Maybe because the last time you two were near each other, you got a bloody lip, and he went to the police station."

"It's not like he didn't deserve it," Eli said, leaning back in his chair. "And besides, I figured neither of you would be very interested in going to the Ravine." Clare and I glanced at each other.

"What? Four days and we're already a packaged deal?" Clare laughed, and Eli shrugged.

"I don't know. I mean, you guy may have just met, but you're already pretty close from what I've seen. Don't you guys have like…all your classes together?"

"Just five."

"Right. Just _five._" Eli laughs. "And you eat lunch together. And you hang out after school." I was about to ask him how he knew we hung out yesterday, when continued. "And you guys are a lot alike." I looked at Clare. Clare looked at me. And we both burst out laughing. "What? It's true." He held up his left hand and wiggled is ring finger. "The rings?"

"Eli," I started, leaning forward. "Just because Clare and I both wear Claddagh rings doesn't mean we have the same beliefs." I looked at Clare. "Nor does it mean, and no offence to you Clare, that we are anywhere near the same level experience wise." Clare shrugged.

"None taken." I smiled, and I saw Eli smirk out of the corner of my eye.

"What's that supposed to mean, Peterson?" He leaned forward too, cocking an eyebrow. "Under table favors at the president's dinner? Quickies with whats-his-face-Percy-Jackson at the Teen Choice Awards?" I stopped momentarily, startled. Clare let out a restrained snort. He was spot on on that last bit. I mean, not the quickie part. Ew. I would never have sex with Logan. It was 1) illegal and 2) definitely not something I was ready for. But we had made out in the women's lounge moments before presenting at last years TCA's.

"That, _Goldsworthy_, is none of your business." He shrugged.

"Whatever." He looks back down at his paper. "There are other reasons you two are alike."

"As in?" Clare asked.

"You both like bad boys." Clare and I looked at each other, and she crossed her arms, sitting back in her chair.

"I wouldn't exactly call KC a 'bad boy'. Sure, keying your coach's car isn't exactly the smartest thing to do, but it's not 'bad.'" I shook my head. She'd told me about this whole escapade with Coach Armstrong, which she'd heard about through Alli, who heard about it from Jenna, whom KC told.

"And last time I checked, I don't like anyone here."

"But what about in the past?" He held up his hand, like he was about to start ticking things off. "My little cousin, she came to visit last summer. And she was totally obsessed with you. I mean, seriously. Posters and everything. She rattled on and on about who you liked, who you were going out with, what you were wearing." He rolled his eyes. "Lets see…We've got that Logan kid, Mr. Percy Jackson or whatever…and then that Allen guy from that ABC show…what was it...Pretty Little Liars? Something like that."

"Wait," Clare said, looking at me. "Who is he? I mean, who does he play?" I laughed, and shook my head.

"Toby."

"Ohmigod, I love Toby!" Eli rolled his eyes, but Clare continued. "You went out with him?"

"Briefly," I explained. "About a year ago. I'm the one who got him the PLL audition. They wanted me to play Spencer in the show, but I knew I was coming out here, so I wouldn't have been able to do more than like, a season and a half, tops. I was seeing Keegan at the time, and they still needed someone to play Toby. And Allison. I got Keegan the audition first, and he nailed it. My friend Sasha-she was an old friend from when we lived in Long Beach-she was a little young, but she was absolutely perfect for Alli. She ended up getting it." Clare grinned.

"I love Sasha. She does such a good job as Allison, even if she is only 14." I shook my head.

"See, you two think so alike." Eli smirked, and I raised my eyebrows.

"If we're so alike, then who's this _bad boy _Clare likes, eh?" Oh no. I was starting to go native. Eh? On only my fourth day! Oh god oh god. Eli leaned back in his seat, his arms stretching over his head.

"Me, of course." I rolled my eyes, and Clare laughed, shaking her head.

"You're so vain."

"I know I am. It's what makes me special."

"Special Ed, maybe."

"Well," I started, before anyone got any more insulting. "If neither of you have anything to do this weekend, you're welcome to come help me decorate my room." Both of them stopped, and Eli sat forward.

"Us?"

"No, Eli. That random group of Juniors over there." I pointed in the vague direction of a group of preppy girls, and Eli's face crunched up in disgust.

"What would you need us to do?" he asked.

"I need you mostly to help move shit around. I can't screw up my back any more than it already is. I was thinking about asking Adam to help too. And then we could all paint."

"That would be fun," Clare said, nodding.

"And we could all crash at my place if you wanted to," I said, crossing my arms. "I mean, we're gonna be up super late, probably like, three in the morning. We could just sleep on the floor."

"Me?" Eli pointed to himself. "Sleep over at _your _house?" He gave me a suspicious look. "How do I know you won't try and seduce me?" The bell rang then, and the sound drowned out mine and Clare's laughter.

"You'll just have to wait and see, _mon Cherie_!" Yeah. I'm in AP French II. I spent last fall in Paris for fashion week. So sue me.

_10:35 PM_

Tonight has been…odd to say the least.

The day was painfully boring, aside from English and Lunch, which are never boring with Eli, Clare and Adam. I still don't get why all these TV shows and movie and books (including the ones I've been in/wrote) depict high school as such a dramatic place. The only drama I've witnessed so far was watching Eli try and decide which shade of black to color his nails. No, seriously. "I don't know…Sharpie? Or Expo? Or maybe sharpie over expo?" I don't know if he was joking just for the sake of watching Clare and I laugh, or being completely serious, but never the less he went with Sharpie (good luck getting that off any time soon, buddy).

Fiona wanted me to go shopping with her and Holly J at some place called Queen Street, but I needed to ask Adam if he wanted to come with tomorrow, so I told her we'd do it another day. Apparently, she and Holly J are actually good friends, despite the fact that she broke Declan's heart. From what I gathered, Holy J broke it off with him while he was still at Vanderbilt Prep, one of those hotsy totsy schools in NYC (also one of the ones my mom was trying to get me to go to before I found Degrassi, solely for the fact that if we were in NYC I could still work, which was the last thing I wanted to do at the moment), and he came back to Degrassi to try and convince her to get back together with him. I would have jumped at the chance. Her…not so much.

I finally got home, and ate a snack before collapsing on the couch in a pair of soffee's and the shirt I'd worn to school, my hair high up in a cheerleader ponytail. I was just getting to one of the last chapters of our outside required reading book, _Outcasts United_, when the couch vibrated. Okay, it wasn't the couch. It was my phone. And it was a text. From Fitz.

_Prom Night/Quarantine double feature on HBO in 15. You in? _It took me a minute to get what he meant. Yeah, I'd told him my favorite movies were generally horror (I kept my TV turned to Chiller when I was writing, it helped me block out the sounds of my mom's phone calls and dad's house guests), including the fact that the two he mentioned were some of my favorites. But he wanted to watch movies with me? For four hours? Not that I was complaining or anything. Scary movies are the shit in general, but scary movies with a guy, a cute guy, well, that was something to jump at.

_Where?_

_My house. Three doors down on your right. I'll be waiting outside. _Before I knew what I was doing, I stood up, throwing my book on the couch and heading down into my room to grab my keys and a jacket. I glanced in the mirror and fixed a few stray hairs. _Wait a sec_, I thought. _Why am I even bothering? _This guy had seen me at my worse, my pre-bed sweats and a tee, which I don't think any guy has ever seen me in, except maybe Nathan and possibly Keegan, though I can't be quite sure (that was after the PLL cast party…where most of the cast is legal, and everyone was getting champagne). Why was I even bothering to see if I looked good. "Mom?" I called as I walked down the hall. "Mom? You there?" She didn't answer, and I walked in her room to see her already passed out on her bed, dressed in a pair of brown silk pajamas. Her migraine meds were sitting on the bedside table as per usual. Must have been a bad day. It was barely six and she was already in bed. I left a note saying I was going to a friends house to work on something, and I'd be back around ten. I threw on my jacket, and walked out the door, towards Fitz's house. He was waiting outside, as promised.

"What took you so long?" he asked, a joking tone to his voice.

"Oh, gee, sorry. Would you have liked me to run?"

"You getting all hot and sweaty…yeah not something I'm entirely opposed to." I rolled my eyes and started walking towards his front walkway. He didn't follow.

"You coming?" He turned around, shaking his head.

"Sorry, I was expecting a slap for that comment." I baby-punched his forearm.

"Better?"

"Much." He lead me inside, and we stopped in the kitchen, where he pulled out his phone. "Have you already eaten?" I nodded, and sat down on a bar stool leaning against at counter. There was a tray of Lemon bars sitting in front of me, and I have to say they smelled pretty damn good. I looked around the room, taking it all in. So this was where he ate every day, huh? There were pictures scattered on the fridge in front of me, and one large one caught my eye. There were three people in it, Fitz, who look a little bit younger than he did now, and two adults; a man with dark, receding hair, much like my dads, and a woman with hair the exact same color as Fitz, with the same piercing blue eyes, I noticed once I looked back up at him.

"Your mom?" I said in a questioning tone, standing up and heading towards the fridge, examining the picture closer. I heard him move behind me.

"Yeah, that was our family picture last year." In the picture, Fitz was wearing a pair of light khakis and a white button down, a far cry from what I'd seen him in at school, with his baggy-ish jeans and zip ups. "My mom nearly had to kill me to get those khakis on." I let out a little laugh.

"It looks good. The white suits you. Brings out your-

I turned around, ready to continue talking, only to find myself three inches from Fitz's face. His eyes met mine, and my head jerked back. There was something…mesmerizing about those eyes. A shade of dark sapphire that I'm pretty sure I have a dress in in the back of my closet. It's always been one of my favorite colors, and even more so now. "…eyes." I looked away, afraid that if I stared any longer I might not be able to stop. "Where are they?" I side stepped, and leaned against the counter. "Your parents, I mean."

"Mom's at some retreat with her book club, and Ben is at a meeting down town and won't be back till late." I looked around, grasping for something to say other than "Oh, so we're alone?" Because I wanted this to be different. I wanted Fitz to be able to prove to me that he could be something other than the perverted guy I'd seen on Monday at lunch. And I will admit, there was a part of me at that moment that wanted to grab him and kiss him right there. And I felt bad about that. But I was waiting to see what he was going to do; to see if maybe, just maybe, he might change, or at least show some sign of wanting to change. But before I could say anything, he spoke. "We, uh, better head upstairs if we wanna catch the beginning of Prom Night." I nodded, and followed him upstairs and into a room with glass double doors, one of which he opened for me (such a gentleman!). The room held a few rows of couches, followed by a large TV mounted to the wall with shelves of what seemed like endless amounts of DVD's and video games. It kind of looked like my media room back home in LA…only minus the video games. Me and hand-eye coordination…yeah, not so much. "You can just grab a seat on the first row. You don't mind if I change, do you? It's freaking hot in here." I laughed and shook my head, and he left through a smaller wooden door in the back of the room. Just as I was sitting down on the front couch with a sigh, he came back in. The lights were already kind of low, so I couldn't really tell what he'd changed into. "You want a drink?" He made his way over to a fridge, and I nodded. He grabbed two Cokes, and handed me one as he came around to the couch, taking a seat. "Sorry, we didn't have any RC." I looked at him, my hand frozen on the tab of my drink in shock. How did he…

"You've been doing research," I said cooly, and popped my drink open. He picked up the remote and turned on the TV just as the opening credits of Prom Night started.

"I find it's a lot easier to find out things about people when they have fan sites." I laughed.

"Which one did you go to?"

"I found quite a few, actually." He shrugged. "But the one I found was the best and most updated was ." I made a face.

"Ugh, they made that one when I was still using my middle name." I shook my head and took a drink. He laughed and held his hands up in an "I don't know," gesture.

"I actually kinda like it. Antoinette. It fits you. It's very…"

"Old fashioned?"

"Classy." He smiles. "That's hard to find. Trust me, I've been looking for someone like my mom for years." I couldn't help but smile back. I was like his mom, huh? Well, I had to be like _someone's _mom, cause lord knows I'm not like mine. For the first time since he sat down, I saw what he was wearing. A very _tight _white tee shirt, and a pair of pajama bottoms. With something on them….

"And you made fun of me for wearing my _Goofy _sweats." He looked at me, confused, and I gestured down to his pants, putting my drink on the side table and crossing my arms.

"What? Scooby Doo is cool!" I scoffed.

"So is Goofy!"

"Goody is a nerd."

"Nerds can be cool. I'm a nerd, and I'm cool."

"That's a matter of opinion." My mouth opened to retort, but all that came out was a "uh!" so I resorted to slapping him on the arm instead. He leaned away, laughing, and I realized how cute his smile was. It was wide and inviting, and the way his eyes squinted when he laughed was _adorable_. Wait. What am I saying? This is the same guy that smacked my ass not four days ago.

We settled into a comfortable silence, and before I knew it, the first movie was over. I spent most of it huddled in my corner of the couch, holding one of the pillows to my chest like it was bulletproof. Just because I like scary movies, doesn't mean they don't _scare _me. I stood up at the same time Fitz did, and stretched, my arms reaching over my head. I was a little worried that I had a double chin, like I usually did when I stretched, and Fitz was looking at me, but he was definitely not looking at my face. I followed his line of vision and realized that not only did my shirt and jacket, which I'd zipped in the time since the movie had started and it'd started getting colder, ride up, but my shorts were stressed against a low point on my stomach, so far down that you could see a solid half inch of my pink, lacy underwear. I hastily brought my arms down, pulling both my tee and my jacket back down as well, and I could feel my face flushing with color.

"You're cute when you're embarrassed. You know that?" I gave a small smile, and crossed my arms over my chest, looking around for some sign of a bathroom. In the time since the movie'd started, I'd finished my drink, and had to go really bad.

"I need to pee."

"Thanks for sharing." We both laughed, and he pointed to the double doors. "Out through there, second door on your right." I went where he said, and by the time I was done and coming back to the room, he was coming back up the stairs. "I had to go too," he said with a shy smile. It was cute. We both went back into the room, and he grabbed both cans of coke off the side tables and tossed them into a bin, before going back to the fridge. "Same?" He looked up from the fridge holding two more cans of coke, and I nodded. He came back to the couch and sat down, handing me one can and then popping his open, taking a sip, and then setting it on the table. Then, to my surprise, he pulled something small and silver out of the pocket of his pajama pants. It took me a second to realize that it was a flask. "You don't mind, do you? I'm gonna need some of this if I wanna get through the shit special effects on Quarentine."

"Hey!" I said, laughing. "And not at all. Actually…" He was pouring some into his Coke can, and I realized that it was Vodka. "Give it here." I held out my hand,.

"Seriously?" He looked at me, surprised. I nodded.

"Why not? I haven't in a while, and I might need some of that too if I'm gonna watch this." He laughed and handed me the flask, and I took a huge gulp of the soda before filling the rest of the can with the clear liquid. I was going to hand it back to him, but then took a look at it in my hand, and decided to take another huge gulp, straight from the flask. He looked even more surprised. I felt the familiar burn going down my throat, and gave a satisfied smirk. The alcohol was already starting to kick in, a warming and numbing effect spreading through my body.

"Damn, girl." I laughed as I spun the cap back on and handed it to him, and then settled back down into the couch, cradling the can in my hands. He did the same, and we sat like that through the first fourty or so minutes of the movie, before I finally felt like I was about to freeze to death. I was cuddled under a pillow, my hands balled up in my sleeves and my legs tucked under me, before Fitz finally said "Hollie, you're shaking." I laughed.

"I'm coldddd." He looked around for a second, as if trying to find something.

"We usually have a blanket in here…Mom may have been using it in her office though. She gets cold a lot too." He scrunched up his face, thinking, and then looked at me, his arms wide. "Come here." He gestured for me to come over to him on the couch, and I gave him a look. I wasn't sure if he was trying to make a move or what. "Hollie, come on. I'm not gonna bite you. But I'm warmer than you, and I don't know how to work the new AC system we got last month." I rolled my eyes. Of course he didn't. I sat for a second, thinking, and looked at the screen in time to see the main character of the movie entering the apartment building where some pretty damn bad things were going to happen. I looked back at him, and he raised his eyebrows. "Well?"

"Fine." I huffed and untucked my legs, using my hands to crawl over to where he was, his legs half way on the couch, half way not, and wedged myself between him and the back of the couch. He was right. He was a warmer than me. By like…a lot. "Holy shit. You are hot."

"I know." He gave a cocky little smile, and I laughed, rolling my eyes.

"Not like that," I said, smacking him on the arm. He grabbed my hand when I did, and held it between his two for a minute.

"Geeze. You are cold." I nodded my head, and pulled my legs up closer to me, my right shoulder just barely resting on his chest. Man, this guy had some pecks. After a minute, he let go of my right hand and gestured for me to give him my other one, which I did. He held it again, but before he let go he spread it out on his left hand, and his right when to trace the outline of my ring. "What is it?" he asked quietly. "I mean, what is it…for?"

"It's a Claddagh ring," I said slowly, holding my hand up. "It's an Irish symbol of purity. My mom's side is Irish."

"I should have known," Fitz said, laughing. "Doesn't Saint Clare wear one too?" I rolled my eyes at his choice of names, and nodded.

"Yeah, she wears almost the exact same one. We got them at the same age, too. Twelve years old." He looked at me then. Almost as if trying to read me.

"You didn't really know what you were promising back then, though. Did you?" I shrugged.

"More or less. I got the concept. But once I started acting with bigger people, I started to understand it. I don't really wear it out much though. Only when I'm with friends. I don't really wanna be categorized with the Jonas Brothers." Fitz scoffed, and I laughed with him. "And I don't abide by it as much as I should." He gave me another look, this time his eyebrows raising and a small smirk playing on his lips. My arm reached out and slapped him across the chest.

"Ouch!" He feigned hurt and put his hand to his chest. "I was just curious. Geeze." I rolled my eyes, and my head sat back on the couch, watching as he still held my hand, tracing around the ring again. He let my hand down, and when he did, his own brushed against my leg, which was curled up, my thigh next to his on the couch. He blushed, and ripped his hand away quickly. "Sorry." I smiled to myself, and laughed.

"I'm not the only one who's cute when they're embarrassed." Whoa. Where did _that _come from? The filter I'd put on my mouth was coming down. Slowly, but still. He looked at me, his eyebrows raised.

"What was that?" He cupped his ear, and leaned towards me, his eyes looking up to the ceiling. "I'm afraid I didn't hear you." I laughed and shook my head, crossing my arms.

"You're so lame." He laughed and rolled his eyes.

"Au contraire, mon fraire." I let out a surprised giggle, and looked at him, my eyebrows raised.

"Oh, so you speak French how?" I spoke in French then, crossing my arms tighter. He nodded, and shrugged.

"Yep. Two years, and then a trip to France last summer with my mom. She met with some French designer." I looked at him then, surprised.

"You and your mom are really close, huh?" I said, switching back to English. Fitz smirked and nodded, glancing at the TV.

"Closer than my dad and I ever were. She…well she pretty much raised me by herself." He looked down at his hands. "My dad…he wasn't really around much when I was growing up. They got married really young, when she got pregnant with my sister. His dad…wasn't the nicest guy, and didn't help them out at all. So he pretty much followed suit when I was a kid. Kind of…nursed a bottle more than me, if you get what I mean." I looked at his hands, fidgeting in his, lap, and for the first time, I think I kind of understood Fitz's reasoning's. For being who he was, I mean. The way he was around his friends.

"So that's why you're…well, the way you are?" He looked up.

"Meaning?"

"I mean, around your friends."

"A jackass?" he asked, raising his eyebrows. "What, so I'm just like my dad or something?" He leaned away from me then, and he looked almost….hurt.

"What? Fitz, no, that's not what I meant." I let out a little laugh, and he seemed even more confused. "I meant…you're like the authority figure. You're the one that they look up to. And you try to be someone that they think is cool." I smiled. "It's sweet. Even if you do go about it in some…odd ways." He smiled then, and shrugs.

"I guess you're right. I mean, I didn't really have that when I was younger." He looks back down, and the picks my hand up again, messing with the ring on my finger. "I didn't have someone to watch be a good husband, or even a good guy in general. He didn't teach me how to respect people-women especially-and I had to learn from watching my mom. How…nice and sweet she was to people, how she didn't care how rude they were to her. Kind of like you." He looked up at me, and I could feel my heart swell. I felt it go out to this guy in front of me who, at the moment, looked more like a boy than a teenager. But regardless of how sad I felt on the inside, I let out a little laugh.

"Yeah. I'm _so_ nice to people. That's why there's now a bruise on your ass."

"Well, that was self defense. I was kind of an ass." He rubbed the back of his neck, and looked at me again. "Sor-

"I told you not to apologize again!" I thumped him across the chest, and he let out a strangled little laugh as I sat back, my head falling back over his shoulder.

"Geeze. Sorry. Just trying to be polite." I shook my head, starting to talk.

"You really are like your mom, hu-

My head lobbed to the right, only to find myself about an inch from Fitz's face, just like earlier. Only this time, he was looking at me differently. It wasn't the same mesmerizing stare as downstairs. It was more of an…appreciative look. His hand still held mine, and I saw him glance down at my lips and then back into my eyes. I wanted to reach forward, wrap my hand on the back of his neck, bring those lips of his crashing down to mine. But I controlled the urge, like earlier, waiting to see what he did. And what he did do pleasantly surprised me. He didn't make a move. He didn't even brush my lips with his, no matter how much I wanted him to. He just gave a small smirk, turned his head, and grabbed his drink off the side table, taking a swig and then offering it to me. I took a drink, and as he looked back at me after putting the can back on the table, he gave my hand a tight, firm squeeze. This wasn't over. Not by a long shot. But he seemed to get what I was doing. Trying to see if he was worth going after, with all the shit I'd seen him do and heard about him. He was doing just what I'd hoped he would; going slow and steady, not too pushy. And that alone made my heart jump more than it would have if he'd actually kissed me.

_October 16, 2010_

_6:55 PM_

_Location-bedroom_

_Feeling: Accomplished_

So, Friday came with a bit of a nervous tingle. After Thursday night, I wasn't sure if I'd be able to look at Fitz without blushing. I don't know why the hell all of this is happening. I mean, I don't ever blush. Especially not when I talk to guys. But with Fitz, I felt like I was constantly red faced. It's like how Clare was around Eli. Yeah, not a good thing.

School on Friday was generally boring as usual. Only big thing that happened was, well, after lunch.

I was sitting in the hallway, talk to Clare and leaning against the lockers. Fitz was on the opposite side of the hallway, talking to his buddies, and he kept glancing over at me around the same times I would look at him, and we kept catching each others' eyes and I would smile. I felt like I was in some bad middle school based TV show. It was like being 13 all over again. And that's when it happened. Eli and Adam came runnining down the hall, Adam first. Eli tossed him a football (WTF? Eli and footballs? Yeah, don't really mix), and it came _this _close to hitting Fitz in the head. As soon as Fitz turned around to yell at Eli, Eli ran up to him, grabbed his waistband, and pulled. Hard. His pants came down with a _whoosh_, and I felt my face heating up. Clare had turned around by then, and was steadily glaring at Eli. Before anyone could see anything embarrassing, Fitz turned around, bending down to grasp at his pants. And I got a good view of his bare, naked ass.

"Holy crap," I whispered under my breath. "There really is a bruise." And there really was. A bruise in the shape of a boot toe. Clare gave me a look, and turned to look and see what I was staring at.

"Hollie!" She grabbed my face and turned it around, just as Fitz pulled both his pants and (blue, polka dotted) boxers up. I laughed, and gave Clare a sarcastic look just as Eli and Adam walked up to us, Eli wearing a sarcastic smirk. "Eli, what the heck was that?" Before he could answer, A hand turned Eli around and pushed him back between us, pinning him against the locker. It was Fitz.

"Yeah, Goldsworthy. Mind explaining?" He wore the same sarcastic look as Eli, and my eyes widened as I looked at Clare over Fitz's arm.

"Just payback." Fitz raised his eyebrows, looking confused. "For Monday? You know. When you _sexually harassed _my friend?" He gave me a pointed look, and my eyes bugged even further.

"Eli!" I put one hand on Fitz's chest, the other on Eli's, and tried to shove them apart. But Fitz wouldn't move. And for the first time, I noticed that most of the people in the hall had turned to look at us. I gave Fitz a strained look, trying to plead with him through my eyes. It took him a minute, but he seemed to get the message and let go of Eli slowly, crossing his arms. I turned to Eli, one arm crossing over my chest, grabbing the other arm as my finger wagged up and down. "You, I can fight my own battles. No invasion of personal space, and no inducing public embarrassment." He rolled his eyes, but before he could talk, I turned back around, facing Fitz this time. "And _you_." I put on my most seething tone, and my finger poked at his chest before wagging at him. _God_, those muscles. "I suggest you get the fuck out of here."

"Yes, _mom_." He rolled his eyes, and his friends, flanking on either side of him, laughed. He made it sound like an insult, being compared to his mother. But less than twenty four hours before, I'm pretty sure it was a good thing. I raised my eyebrows, and crossed my arms.

"Unless you want a bruise on your _other _ass cheek from _this _foot." I raised my left foot, the one I hadn't kick him with, and he stepped back. I was being serious too. I may have liked the guy, but you fuck with my friends and you fuck with me. He seemed to realize this, and after a sneer at both of us, he gave his friends a look and a nod, and they headed back down the hallway. He turned to look at me as they walked, and gave me a little smirk. I rolled my eyes, but smirked back.

"Jesus," Adam said, crossing his arms. "He's never backed down that fast before. You should be like, a dominatrix or something." Clare, Eli and I all gave him looks. "What? I meant you're good at telling people what to do." I let out a snort, and Clare shook her head, laughing too. Eli just rolled his eyes.

I did berate him at lunch for what he did. I mean, Fitz was no angel. But if he hadn't turned around…Lord know the amount of blurred pics that would have ended up on the Anti-Grapevine. Clare was super pissed too, but I get the feeling she was actually happy Eli had stood up for me. The public display of Fitz's behind, not so much.

As soon as school let out, Clare and I got in my car, and we drove to her house to grab her clothes and everything. She, Adam and Eli were crashing at the house with me, but they had to go back to their places before coming over. When Clare ran back out of her house, carrying a small bag behind her, there was screaming coming from inside. She gave me an embarrassed smile, and I shrugged back, showing that her parents' fighting didn't really bother me. She'd already explained that her parents were trying to work things out as an alternative to divorce, so I could get how testy things were.

By the time we got back to the house, my mom was gone to her facial appointment downtown. We let ourselves in, and hung out till the guys got there, only about twenty minutes later. Eli parked in the street, so we could pull out in my car to go get the paint and supplies, and then Adam was dropped off by his mom, who was on her way to pick up Drew from football practice. Adam's mom seemed sweet as can be…even if she was a little, confused as to why her son was a) staying over at a girls house and b) why said girl was an international superstar. But I explained the situation to her (the painting bit, not the superstar part), and after the use of my parent-charming powers, she seemed to be fine and dandy.

Once everyone's stuff was inside, we piled in my car (Clare and I in the front, much to Eli's protests and calls of Shotgun) and drove to the resident hardware store. I gave the woman at the paint center a swatch of the colors I wanted, and while the colors were being mixed, we walked around and picked up what else we needed. You know. Rollers. Tarps. The usual. We even got into a pretty epic elongated roller Light Saber fight. Well, Eli, Adam and I did. Clare sat by and watched. But we had the sound effects and everything. I felt like a kid again.

By the time we had everything, the paint was done, and we loaded it all up and got back home in time to see Mom parking in the driveway. She smiled when she saw us, but her eyes looked confused. "Hey mom!" I said slowly, closing my car door. "We're just getting the stuff in to paint tonight." She still looked confused. "Remember. I asked you a few days ago?" She shakes her head, but smiles.

"My memory these days. Everythings so busy." Bull. She must have taken her meds and not told me. She always forgets things I tell her after she's taken her meds.

"This is Clare, Eli and Adam. My friends from school." They all shake her outstretched hand, and she smiles at all of them, and then looks at me.

"Will your other friend be coming too?" she asked, glancing down the street behind us. "Mark?" My eyes widen, and I give her a stressed look. Oh god. Oh God.

"Uh. No. Mark won't be coming tonight." Before she can say anything else, or the others can give me another confused look, I went to the back of the car and popped the trunk open. Clare came around and started picking up bags of trays, and raises her eyebrows at me.

"Mark?" I gave an awkward laugh and grabbed a bucket of paint and a bag of rollers, as Adam and Eli come around.

"Aha. Yeah…Fitz kind of lives down the street. He came by to bring a plate of cookies from his mom." I rolled my eyes, as if annoyed.

"He lives down the street?" Adam asked, shocked.

"Yeah, I was surprised too." We got everything in and downstairs to the room. It's not actually a room as much as it is a lounge with a separate living area. From what we'd been told, it used to be the basement, but the owners before us had renovated it into a little sub-apartment to rent out. There was a lounge with a TV set up, a HUGE bedroom (almost bigger than the master upstairs), a full bathroom with shower and bath, and even a little kitchenette and dining table, neither of which I'd used for anything more than homework or to store diet cokes (in the mini fridge hidden under the bar).

"Holy crap," Eli said as he walked around, peeking into my room which I'd hurredly cleaned last night when I got out of the shower. "We've gotta paint all of this?" He and Clare both gave me looks, and I laughed and shook my head.

"Just the bedroom. I like the green colors in the bathroom, they're very…calming. And this lavender color out here is perfect." I gesture to the light walls, which made the room seem…bigger. "But the color of the room…yeah, no." The room was painted a dark, sandy color. Not my thing.

The first thing we did was pull all the furniture out of the room and into the little non-descript area near the stairs, so we still had room to hang out later in the night. Most of my stuff was still in boxes, as I'd had so much shit to do this last week that I hadn't really had a chance to unpack it. We'd only been in the house for a little under two weeks.

Clare helped me tape off the doors and edging, lat the tarps down and take all the outlet covers off, while Eli and Adam got the paint set up with the rollers and everything. I put on a mix playlist I'd made Thursday night, and Eli groaned at almost every song that came on. Clare, Adam and I just laughed. We all started painting one wall with the base primer, and Clare and I started in the same corner so we could talk.

"How long are you guys planning on staying here, then?" she asked. "If you're painting and all." I shrugged and traced the outside of an outlet with a paint brush.

"At least till the end of the school year. My dad and I have been wanting to invest in a property in TO for a while, though, so this came as a good opportunity. Mom's having some painters come and do the rest of the house next month. I got to pick out all the furniature and colors, though, since I'm partially paying for it." I gestured around the room. "I get to do this stuff the way I want. The basement is mine to use. I'm planning on turning a room upstairs into a little craft room and studio though. If I wind up coming back." She gave a little smile, and turned to keep painting.

"Well I hope you stay. Or at least come back to visit."

"And miss out on Eli's sarcastic banter and another chance to kick Fitz's ass? Never."

It only took us about half an hour to finish the base coat, and by then we were all starving. We ordered a pizza from the nearest place, and by the time it got there we were all trying to peal dry paint off our legs (or in Eli and Adam's case, arms). None of us looked that great. Clare and I were dressed in our oldest shorts and tees, coupled with baseball caps to avoid colored hair, and the guys wore caps too, but with old sweat pants (Eli's were black, of course), and tee shirts. I answered the door in my cap and shorts, and even though I looked nothing like myself, the stare of the teenager delivering the pizza as I handed him the money was pretty reassuring that I was easy to recognize. We ate quickly, and by the time we were done, all of us still sipping our drinks, Adam was sprawled out on the tacky tweed couch left by the previous owner, his stomach protruding good two inches.

"God. I'm so full. My stomach hurts." I laughed and poked him in the stomach, and he grasped at it before sticking his tongue out at me.

"Oh, yeah, real mature." We went back to work, then, with the big rollers and blue paint, careful not to get anything on the desk. About half way through, Adam announced he had to pee (I high fived him for being as up-front about it as I am), and a few minutes later, my phone buzzed on the floor a few feet away. It was a text.

Adam: Emergency. Help!

My eyebrows knit together as I put the roller down and tucked my phone in my waistband, saying I was going to get another diet coke. I was confused as to what type of "emergency" Adam had. That involved me helping. I went straight to the bathroom and knocked on the door. "Adam?" I asked slowly. "It's Hollie." The door opened just a tiny bit, and I saw Adam's eyes through it. They looked…shocked.

"Uh…hi." He blushed, embarrassed for reasons unknown at the time, and looked at me. "Can I borrow some, uh…sweats?" I blinked, confused.

"What? Why?" His eyes shifted, and then looked down as he sighed, and then opened the door.

"Hollie, there's something…something you need to know." He leaned back on the countertop, one hand going to his forehead and the other on the counter behind him. "I haven't told anyone this. Not even Clare and Eli." He looked up from under his hand, and I raise my eyebrows, making a gesture for him to go on. "I…I don't even know how to word this." He sighs again, and shakes his head. "I'm a guy. You know that, right?" I gave him an obvious stare, and he nods. "Right. Well, I was born…I was born a girl." I didn't speak for a minute. Yeah, seriously. That's what he said. I'm not bullshitting you.

Granted, I'd met transgender before. There were plenty of them in LA. Hell, my favorite store in Venice beach was run by an awesome trans couple who absolutely adore me. But Adam…he didn't really strike me as the transgender type. I mean, yeah, I'd noticed his voice was a _little _high. And maybe he did go a little over the top trying to dress like your average guy. But I never suspected until then.

"Uhm, wow." I blinked a few times, trying to process. "Okay. So you're…a transgender. That's…cool." I gave a small smile, and he looked confused.

"Seriously? That's it?" He raised his eyebrows.

"Yeah. Why not? It's not like it's a big deal or anything. I mean, you're a guy between the ears, right?" He nodded, and I shrugged. "Then it doesn't really matter to me." He smiled back, and I leaned against the wall behind me. "So what's this about needing some sweats?" His face colored, and I gave him a look. He slowly turned around to show me the small, dark red stain on the back of his pants. "Ohhh."

He hurriedly explained that he wasn't supposed to start for another week, but I just waved it off and grabbed him a pad and a pair of sweats from the bottom of my pajama drawer. I think they were Keegan's or something. Anyways, he changed and came back to the room, telling Clare and Eli that the sink had gone on the fritz and it looked like he'd peed himself. Before I knew it we were done painting. As Eli and Adam poured the left over paint back into the tins, Clare and I stat on the floor in the middle of the room, where there was no paint, and looked around. We'd done a pretty damn good job, if I do say so myself. The walls were a really pretty Tiffany Blue color, and then the little alcove where my desk went was a pale, white color from Disney called Once Upon a Time. It made me feel little again, but I liked having a piece of my childhood (and some of my teen years, since I gave four good years to that damn channel) with me here at the house.

By the time we were done, it was almost four in the morning. Yeah, it'd taken us _that _long to paint my room. It was a big room. Clare and I excused ourselves and both changed in the bathroom (what, like I haven't changed in front of girls before? Three years ago, and I wasn't running a runway show, I was walking it), while Adam decided to just sleep in his sweats and tee and Eli changed into a different pair of sweats. Clare was in an adorable pair of pink shorts with hearts on them and a black tee, while I wore a similar colored V neck and my favorite pair of lavender pajama shorts. We got back out into the living room, where we were sleeping, and Eli let out a low whistle.

"Who knew Saint Clare had such legs!" he said, laughing. Clare blushed and grabbed a pillow of the couch, crossing her legs and pulling it tight to her chest. I'd been in the same position the night before, only then I'd been three feet away from an extremely hot guy. She was half way across the room from Eli, and yet she felt like she needed protection.

"And you, Peterson," Adam started. "you've actually got a butt!" I laughed and walked around to the kitchenette, where I had extra blankets and pillows stashed under the cupboards that were supposed to hold the cutlery. I tossed everyone a pillow, and then I pulled out a few big blankets. The living room wasn't wide enough to have blocks of two and two, like I'd thought we would, so we ended up all laying out next to each other, with Adam and Clare on either side of me, and then Eli next to Clare. We set the blankets out under us, and we went to sleep after a few whispered discussions. Clare and I stayed up the latest, and I teased her about how cute Eli looked getting his handyman-ness on with all of the painting and such.

When I woke up, my eyes fluttered open, and I was about a foot away from a sleeping, drooling Adam. I swear, it's one of the cutest things I've ever seen. His mouth hung open, and he was snoring lightly. I turned onto my back, and stared at the ceiling for a minute, blinking. _Shit_, I thought to myself. I slept in my contacts. I got them back in the right places and slowly stood up out of my make shift bed, and turned around as I threw my hair in a ponytail. And what I saw made me stop mid twist. I'd looked down at the other people laying on the floor, to see Clare and Eli. Together. Cuddling. Eli's arm was wrapped around Clare's waist, and her back was against his chest. His chin was resting on her shoulder, and the blankets were pulled up to cover only past their hips. And then Eli muttered something under his breath. I didn't catch it, but luckily (or unluckily, depending on who you were in this situation), he said it again. "_Clare_…" What. The. Fuck.

The only thing that could have made the situation worse would have been if they'd been naked. Which, luckily for me, they weren't. So, instead, I just shrugged and went upstairs to start breakfast. By the time I was pulling the eggs off the stove, Clare had made her way upstairs, her hair a complete mess, but looking almost…euphoric.

"Do I even want to know how you two ended up like that?" Yeah. That was the first thing I said to her. She rubbed her nose and sat blearily at the bar in front of me, shaking her head.

"All I can remember is being really cold." I laughed and shook my head, pouring the eggs onto a big plate.

"That's how it always starts. Well, I can tell you one good thing." She looked up, intrigued. "He's definitely into you."

"How do you know?" Her eyebrows knit together.

"He said your name in his sleep. At least twice." Her eyes widened, but before she could say anything, the door to the basement opened and a very sleepy looking Adam tramped in, followed by an equally as tired looking Eli. I don't know why they were so tired. It was almost one in the afternoon. They sat on either side of Clare on the bar, and Clare couldn't look at Eli. It was pretty damn funny. I took one look at Adam, and grabbed a paper towel and handed it to him. "You've got a bit of drool…just there…" I pointed to the side of his face, and he crossed his eyes as if trying to look. That was the beginning of the morning.

It ended with Clare having to leave first. As I expected, Eli offered to wait outside with her, so Clare got dressed and grabbed her stuff from downstairs and they waited for her mom out front. Adam and I went back downstairs, and while he headed for the couch and turned on the TV, I went straight for the wall behind the kitchenette. "Uh, what are you doing?" he asked as I stood on the trunk near the counter.

"There's a window here…behind this curtain…if I can just…" I pulled the latch, and the window slowly popped open. Adam just stared at me. "We can see what they're saying." Without hesitation, he jumped up and ran over to where I was, and then stood on the trunk next to me. We both looked out just in time to see them step out on the porch. They sat there for a few minutes, and I could practically hear the awkwardness in the air.

"So…" Clare started. "Thanks for keeping me warm last night." I saw her give him an awkward smile, and I felt myself grinning. This was adorable.

"It wasn't a problem," Eli said, leaning back. "Or an inconvenience, really." Clare turned to him, to where I couldn't see, but I could practically hear her roll her eyes.

"I, uh…I think Hollie saw us this morning. When she woke up, I mean."

"And?" But that's the last thing either of them said, because just then I saw the tires of Clare's mom's car in front of the driveway, and Clare gave a small wave to Eli before he walked away. When he came back in, he gave us a look where we sat on the couch, trying to act as normal as possible. Like we hadn't just eavesdropped.

_October 18, 2010_

_8:25 PM_

_Location-MI Lab_

_Feeling: wiped_

So the weekend was relatively entertaining. After Adam and Eli left, Fiona texted to ask if I wanted to go shopping. Since I'd bailed earlier last week, I agreed, and met her at the Dot to walk down to Queen Street. They actually have some decent shops. Apparently it's like, the big place to go in TO for the high end stuff. I did wind up getting a pair of adorable Jimmy Choo flats, which I plan on wearing tomorrow with a top I got at Forever 21 back in LA.

Sunday night was fun too, because Fiona texted again asking if I wanted to come over for dinner. She and Declan were having a night in, and then were going to watch the French Film marathon on TCM. I was game, but by the time I got there they were already seated on the couch. Fi offered me some Sushi, which I politely declined (1-I hate fish, 2-I'd eaten before I came over), and then she gestured to the open space between her and Declan.

I spent most of the movie exchanging glances with Declan. Was it just me, or was that cocky smirk of his laced with something other than mild curiosity?

Anywho, there's going to be a dance at school! In two weeks, they're holding a Halloween Bash at this little club thing they have above The Dot. It's literally called _Above the Dot_. I giggled when Clare told me what it was a few minutes ago, when they announced it. Apparently Sav, Alli's brother and the president, is DJing. I might have to drop by later and give him a few suggestions as to what to play…

_October 24, 2010_

_3:45 PM_

_Location-Bedroom_

_Feeling: Tired_

What. A. _**Bitch**_.

Fucking _Bianca _decided it would be super fun to expose Adam in the middle of the hallway. I thought the poor guy was going to cry. The only upside to this whole thing was that he came out to Clare and Eli. Finally. Of course, I was eating with Fiona at The Dot, so I didn't get to see their facial expressions. But Adam said it went well.

In other news, the furniture for downstairs finally came. And I got rid of that God awful couch! I'm still texting Fitz as much as ever, though. Even after that little stunt Eli pulled last week, he still maintains that he doesn't hate them. We even hung out again on Monday night. He came over and we played cards on the kitchen table, using Oreos as chips. He gave me a nickname, too. Doe eyes. I know, I didn't get it at first. But he said that when my eyes go all wide I look like a doe. I was confused as to how this was a good thing, but he said it was cute. Whatever floats your boat, dude.

I think he's honestly starting to change a bit. I mean, he hasn't really done anything around me that would make me suspsicious that he's this horrible guy. Though, when we were hanging out downstairs yesterday, he pulled a pack of cigs out of his pocket and asked if I minded if he smoked. I didn't really, but the idea of him smoking kind of grossed me out. I'd made it a point not to date guys who smoked; they always smelled, and I wasn't going anywhere near someone with fur on their tongue, which I'd learned early on could happen when you smoke too much. He offered me one, and I declined.

"Those things'll kill you, you know that, right?"

"Your friend goth boy said the same thing to me," he said with a laugh, and then took a puff, blowing it out. I'd opened the small window in the room and turned a fan on so I wouldn't have to smell it.

"He's smart like that." I smiled, and then gave him a look. "It's a pretty bad habit, though."

I really hope he doesn't flip a shit cause of Adam. I mean, really. All he did was hit on Bianca. Granted, most guys who hit on Bianca just epically fail, from what Fitz and Eli have both told me. But she was just a plain bitch to Adam. Why do she and Fitz have to be friends? I mean, really.

_October 25, 2010_

_1:43 PM_

_Location-F&M_

_Feeling: Pissed_

No. He. Didn't.

**I know. I left you guys with a cliffy. Don't shoot!**

**I figured everyone deserved a HUGE update since my lack of posting these last couple of days. It's be a long time, I know. I was in Galveston with my friend Holly (yeah, both of us have the same name. It got confusing), so I didn't really have time or the means to post. I'm so sorry!**

**I'll try to update more, but school starts in less than a week, so I'm no guaranteeing I'll be getting much in for a while. Stick with me!**

**XOXO Holly**


	6. October 25th, 3:28 PM

_October 25, 2010_

_3:28 PM_

_Location-Home_

_Feeling: Pissed_

Oh, but he did.

Why did this HAVE to happen? I mean, seriously. Things were going great. I was supposed to go over to hang out with Fitz after school, just work on English and talk. Nothing big. And then at lunch, Adam looked like he was about to cry. Turns out, Fitz and Owen decided to throw him into a door. Yeah, a door. I'm pretty sure I wasn't the only one at the lunch table who was ready to kick Fitz's ass (not that I already haven't…).

I don't even know what to do. Should I go over there and bitch him out? Should I just leave it and act like nothing happened? Should I just…drop him all together, and try and ignore the way my heart fluttered that first day, and still does every time I see him?

_5:45 PM_

I chose option number one. Going over there, I mean. I hadn't even changed out of my clothes from school, so I walked over, my keys and cell I hand, and knocked on the door. I expected him to answer, but he didn't. His mom did. The same woman from the picture on his fridge; with the same eyes, the same hair color. I had to take a step back, I was so surprised. I mean, sure, I knew his mom lived there. _Duh. _But I hadn't seen her around the times that I'd been there.

"Can I help you?" she asked politely, and smiled. God. Fitz really did look like her.

"Uh, hi, Mrs. Fitzgerald." I assumed that was her last name…Fitz'd said he kept his mom's maiden name, the same one she went by. "I'm Hollie. I live down the street?" I waved in the vague direction of my house, and gave her a polite smile back. "I'm a…friend of Mark's." I didn't know if he went by his last name around here too, so I just went with the safest bet. "Is there any way I could talk to him?" I knew he was home. His car was in the driveway. That light silver Crysler that I'd seen on the first day and almost envied. _Almost_.

"Oh, you're Hollie!" She seemed happily surprised. "I was beginning to think Mark was making you up." I gave a little laugh and shook my head. So he'd been talking about me? To his mom? This wasn't the time to be happy though. I was still pissed. "He's right in here." She opened the door, and I headed straight for the kitchen, where she'd pointed. Sure enough, Fitz was sitting there, at the same bar I'd sat down at last week, holding ice and a rag to his right hand. I heard his mom come in behind me, and Fitz looked at her pleadingly.

"Could you give us a few, Mom?" He gave her a smile, and I did the same, and she gave us a confused look before leaving the room. I waited a few seconds before I said anything.

"You get that from throwing Adam?" I pointed to his hand, which was bruised and cut.

"No. That little ass Drew came at me after school. And actually, Owen was the one who threw Adam. Or whatever _her _name is." I crossed my arms.

"Oh, really? And you just stood by and watched as he threw someone into a _glass door_?" My voice got a little louder. "Fitz, what the hell were you thinking? He's one of my best friends."

"I wasn't thinking," he said cooly. "Bianca told us-

"Oh, God. Fitz, really? You went on something Bianca said? You're the one who told me she's always either too high or drunk to think straight." He ignored me and kept on with what he was saying

"Bianca told us that Adam hit on her. And she found something out. Adam isn't a he. Adam is a girl." He seemed to be waiting for my reaction, and I just shook my head and raised my eyebrows.

"And? So? He was born a girl. Your point?"

"You knew?" He looked shocked, and leaned forward on the counter. "You knew she wasn't a guy?"

"Adam is a _he_, Fitz." He shook his head, but I pressed on. "No matter what he may look like under his clothes, he's a guy. Trust me on this. I know him." He gave me a look.

"Owen was the one who saw _him _go into the guys bathroom. He suggested we just kick him out. I didn't know he was going to pick the guy up and throw him. But I had to go along with it. It would have looked weird if I hadn't."

"Would have looked _weird_?" I scoffed, and then put my phone and keys down on the bar, one hand going to my face. "Fitz. Adam is one of my best friends. I thought we've been over the fact that you don't need to be two different people at home and at school, especially when it involves beating my friends up."

"Well apparently I do," he said, and I could tell he was getting a little aggravated. "Hollie, my mom doesn't know half of the shit I get into. And I don't want her to. But honestly, sometimes I need to have fun with the guys. Get drunk, scope out girls. And Owen and Tyler are my only guy friends at the moment. They look-

"Yeah, I know. I know." I gritted my jaw and looked at him. "They look up to you." I sighed. "But having fun doesn't mean you have to do everything _they _want to do either. I can understand wanting to get so wasted you forget your name. Seriously, I do. But just because you do that with the guys, doesn't mean you have to do everything else they do. And I've said it before, I'll say it again. If they look up to you so much, then maybe if you start acting a little nicer at school, they'll change too."

"Oh really?" Now he sounded almost…snarky. Like Eli, only not in a kidding way. "You're so sure about that, huh?" He held the ice tighter to his hand. "How do you know they won't ditch me? How do you know they won't find another person to lead, or even one of them take over, the second I say no to a joint or they find out I'm ditching to hangout with you? To play cards, or work on English homework."

"And that's _so _bad. Getting good grades, and being able to walk in a straight line." I shook my head. "And maybe they will, Fitz. If they do, then they're really not worth your time." I was trying to make him see, make him realize that he was better than all of that. He could do so much better than the people that made others feel like the lowest of the low. Hell, three years ago I was friends with the same type of people. But then I became friends with Sasha and Dakota and Debbie, and things got so much better.

"You really don't get it, do you?" He was talking to me like I was a child. Yes, Fitz. Because one year is _such _an age difference. It's mind blowing. "You came in first day and made friends everywhere. Saint Clare and Goldsworthy, Fiona. If I loose Owen and Tyler as friends, I've got no one." He shook his head, and looked down at his hand. "They're the only ones I've got. Everyone else hates me." I stood there for a second, trying to decide what to do. A part of me, somewhere, wanted to reach out and hug Fitz. He looked so…open and vulnerable. But there was another, bigger part of me that was insulted. He thought _I _had it easy. Starting a whole new life, with whole new people. New town, new school. And he thought that _he_ had no one? He really believed that if Owen and Tyler ditched him, there would be no one there for him? I felt like he'd just metaphorically spit in my face.

"Fine." I picked up my keys and phone, and crossed my arms with them in my hands. "If that's the way you feel, then I guess I'll just leave." For the first time, he seemed to realize what he'd said, and how he'd said it. His eyes widened, and he looked almost…sorry. Almost.

"No, wait, Hollie."

"It's okay, Fitz." I turned to walk away. "You've made it very clear that you don't think I'm going to be there for you." I turned back around, briefly. "So I'm not." And with that, I walked away. Just walked straight out of the house. And I'm still in my room right now, bawling my eyes out. How could I have been so stupid? How could I have thought that he actually might have wanted me for anything other than a booty call and someone to hit on occasionally? It just makes me want to…ugh! Throw something. I don't know what to do.

_10:27 PM_

Well, I did something. Fiona called about twenty minute after I last posted to ask if I wanted to meet her for a latte at The Dot, and then heard me sniffling in the background. She told me not to move a muscle, and ten minutes later she and Declan were at my house. I have no idea how she knew where I lived. Maybe I'd mentioned it? But anyways, she was holding a bottle of champagne when I answered the door, and Declan came bearing a bouquet of flowers and a box of tissues. They didn't even know why I was upset, and yet they were fully prepared. Fiona even had a stash of Godiva chocolate in her bag. Declan searched through my kitchen cabinets, trying to find glasses, while I collapsed at the kitchen table with Fi and, through sniffles and sobs, explained to her what was going on. I felt like an idiot. I still do. But Fiona didn't seem to think I was.

"Fitz is an ass," she said, and then Declan handed her two flutes of champagne, one of which she handed to me. "But I've talked to girls who have gone out with him before, and they've all said that he's a sweetheart when they're alone."

"It's just when he's with his friends that's the problem." I groaned and hid my head in my arms.

"Wait," I heard Declan say. I looked up to see him holding his glass of champagne close to his mouth. "You're this upset about a guy? Like Fitz?" I gave him a drowsy, sarcastic look and took a sip of my drink at the same time he did.

"Oh, I'm sorry hun. Should I be upset over something else? Something that our parents would be upset about? Global warming? The dolphins, perhaps." Now I was just rambling. Champagne did that to me. You'd think Vodka would, but champagne is like…ten times worse. But seriously, Decs. Show some sympathy for the broken girl.

"Declan, stop being so un-empathetic. She liked this…guy. And he screwed her over." I nodded and took another sip. Before I knew what was happening, I was being dragged downstairs. By Fiona. And Declan somehow managed to figure out the new TV faster than I had, because ten minutes later he'd popped in a bag of microwave popcorn upstairs and was coming back just as the opening credits for Kick Ass came on.

"Figured you could use some perverted humor and gore at this point," Declan said with a small smile, and then sat on the other side of me. I spent most of the movie trying not to think about what'd happened earlier tonight. Declan and I munched on the popcorn as I stared blankly at the screen. Okay, so I was distressed. But no amount of boy drama is going to keep me from oogling Aaron Johnson.

_October 26, 2010_

_12:54 AM_

_Location-Lunch_

_Feeling: shocked_

I met up with Clare first period, and prayed that the amount of under-eye cover up was good enough to hide my lack of sleep last night. I spent most of the time in bed after Fi and Declan left tossing and turning. I mentally kicked myself when I finally crawled out of bed this morning for loosing sleep over Fitz. I mean, really, what was it going to do? But the only thing I could think about all night was the look on his face when he said that he had no one but Owen and Tyler.

But after class, when Clare and I went to meet up with Adam and Eli, I couldn't find Adam. I looked around, trying to spot his usual baggy pants and knit hat, but there was no sign of either. And that's when I saw them. There was a girl, with short brown hair wearing a white peasant blouse and blue jacket, talking to Eli across the hall. When Clare called Eli to get his attention, the girl turned around, and I almost dropped my books. It was Adam. Clare and I looked at each other…both of us equally shocked.

"Whoa," I said as I approached them. "Adam…what happened?" He gave me a small smile and glanced at Eli before talking.

"It's Gracie." He looked down, and then spoke again. "And nothing happened. This is just…who I am." I thought my heart was going to fall right out of my chest. He sounded so…desperate. Like he was reaching out for an answer. Some acceptance. I wanted to hug him.

It wasn't until a few minutes ago, at lunch, that I understood why. His mom. His freaking _mom _convinced him that life as Gracie would be easier. How is living a _lie _easier than being who you are?

"But…" Clare started. "Adam, this isn't you. This isn't who you were meant to be."

"Oh really?" he asked, taking a bite of his sandwich. "Cause last time I checked, I was born a girl."

"It doesn't matter what you were born as." I stopped him short, leaning in. "Hell, you could be born a mouse and want to be a guy. Have you never seen Tales of Desperaux?" Eli let out a little laugh. "Adam, all that matters is what's in your mind and heart. That's the only thing anyone will care about if they're really worth having in your life." Adam was close to tears. And I felt bad. I shouldn't have made him cry! But I needed to get the point across.

_4:02 PM_

I was still stressing about Adam until after school. I'd gone to the StuCo room to drop off a mix CD for Sav, and ended up catching up with Anya on my way out. She was reorganizing the costume room in the back of the theatre room so they could get everything back in it and have room to store dance stuff, and I volunteered to help. That would be when Clare walked in, pulling a red-eyed Adam behind her. My heart dropped. What could've happened? Clare looked surprised to see me cleaning with Anya, but pulled me aside.

"Do you think you could grab _Adam _some boy's clothes from the costume room?" I think the grin that arose on my face then told her how happy I was. Anya gave me a questioning look when I grabbed the baggiest hoodie and pants I could find in Adam's side (I guessed), but I muttered that I'd explain it later, and went to give the clothes to Adam. I lead him to the boys dressing rooms and waited outside as he changed. Before he came out, the door to the threatre room opened and closed, and I turned to see Clare coming back in with Drew following close behind. Clare gave us all a small smile and then told me she had to be home to go to some function with her parents. Drew and I stood there for a second, waiting for Adam to come outside. I hadn't really talked to Drew that much, only a few passing words as I waited for him and Alli to detach before first period. But when Adam came out, still looking teary eyed, but dressed in boys clothes at last, and I pulled him into a long hug, the look Drew gave me was speckled with not only mild curiosity, like he didn't know Adam and I were really friends, but what looked like appreciation. I smiled back, and then heard Adam let out a sob.

"Are you okay?" I pulled back, and realized he wasn't sobbing. He was laughing.

"I'm fine." He wiped under his eyes, making sure he wasn't crying. "It's just…I can't believe I actually thought I could go back to being Gracie." I smiled, and he held the clothes in front of him, turning to face both of us. "And these clothes…God." All three of us let out little laughs, and Drew took the clothes from Adam's hands, giving us both a look.

"I think we should get rid of them somehow." He looked down at them. "Burry them?" Adam looked like he was thinking, and then his eyes lit up.

"I know what we should do."

_7:06 PM_

So. Adam's _awesome _idea entailed fire.

Just a little bit of a backstory. Me and fire, yeah, we don't mix. Last summer, I was filming in Hawaii for a movie I was doing. We were doing a luau scene, and of course, you know, that included me in a grass skirt (because apparently girls in bikini tops and grass skirts sells more tickets). Well, to make a long story very short, things caught on fire. Filming was halted for two days because my mom threw a fit, but really, I was fine. The second

Lucas (yeah, Till) realized I was on fire, he grabbed the blanket he had laying out from taking a nap that day and wrapped me in it, effectively taking the fire out.

But when I got out of my car after following Eli's directions to where he and Adam already where, and saw smoke rising, I turned back to Clare.

"We're _burning _the clothes?"

"I don't know! Adam just said we were getting rid of them." We walked up in time to see Eli and Adam poking the fire with a stick, making it a little bigger.

"I thought it would be a good way of saying goodbye to Gracie without hurting myself," Adam said.

"Guys, what's going…" But before anyone could hear what I was asking, I heard footsteps behind us, and then there was a little bird calling sound. We all turned to see Drew walking towards us, grasping the clothes in his hands, his mom and dad trailing behind him. I felt a momentary burn of hate going towards Mrs. Torres. REALLY? YOU REALLY HAD TO CONVINCE YOUR SON TO BECOME A GIRL?

"D'you force her to come?" Adam said, leaning his chin towards his mom.

"Nope," Drew said, coming between Adam and Eli. I stayed off in the distance, behind Clare, and watched as he handed the blouse to Adam. "Are we gonna do this? We got some ugly ass clothes to burn." I nodded in agreement. The top was kind of ugly. Adam's parents walked up, and Drew threw the jacket in the fire, Adam following suit before Mr. Torres handed Adam a picture. I took a few steps over and glanced at it over the fire. It was a picture of Adam as a girl. I could tell, the face looked the same.

"You sure?" he asked his parents. They nodded, and he seemed to hesitate for a minute.

"Not ready to burn it?" Drew asked him.

"It's still me." I gave Adam a small smile over the fire as drew wrapped his arm around Adam's shoulders in a brotherly way, and then Mrs. Torres kissed his cheek. It was an extremely cute family moment. That was promptly interrupted.

"Uh, Hollie," Eli started. I looked to him, still smiling, and raised my eyebrows. He raised his back and then pointedly looked down at my leg. I looked down to see what he was staring at, and for the first time felt a strange heat on my leg at the same time I saw the yellow and orange flames licking at my jeans.

I WAS ON FIRE.

For the _second. Bloody. Time._

In the end, Adam managed to put it out with his jacket. But the whole situation ended up with me on the floor on the other side of the fire, with Adam bent over me wrapping his jacket around my leg. I think Drew got pictures.

_October 28, 2010_

_10:54 AM_

_Location-Lunch_

_Feeling: shocked_

So, apparently we're all going to the dance? All of us being me, Clare, Eli and Adam. After first period, Clare and I were walking to Chem when Eli and Adam caught up with us. Adam, who was finally back to normal, beanie hat and all, was chipper. More chipper than usual (if you'll believe it).

"So…" Adam started, just keeping pace with us.

"So…" Clare echoed. "Aren't your classes like…halfway across school?"

"Yeah," Eli said. "But we have something to ask you two." Clare glanced at me, her eyebrows raised, and I shrugged. I was just as clueless as she was.

"The dance is Friday," Adam said, hitching his hands in his pockets. "And we wanted to know…if maybe you guys wanted to go with us?" He looked so hopeful, I thought my heart was going to melt.

"Not as like…dates or anything," Eli corrected, giving Adam a look. "But like…a group thing." I looked at Clare, and she was already glancing at me. Her face said "aw, what the hell?"

"Sounds good to me!" So I guess it's official? After Chem though, on my way to French, I caught up with Adam in the hall. "So this isn't like, a date…right?" He looked confused. "Cause, I love you Adam, but not like-

He interrupted me with a loud laugh. "Hollie, calm down!" He shook his head. "It was my idea, yeah. But I wasn't trying to ask I _you _out." I raised my eyebrows at him. "I did it so Eli would finally ask Clare out." My eyes widened, and for the first time I realize his reasoning.

"Oh my God," I said as we continued to walk. "Adam…you're a genius." He gave me a grin, and I linked my arm through his as we walked down the hallway.

"I know, right?" He gave a fake, poppin the collar type of gesture, and I rolled my eyes. "What happened to your jeans yesterday? I didn't get a chance to check and see if they were good. I just wanted to make sure you were okay." I laughed, but inside my heart swelled a little. This guy was _ahdorable_. If he was my type, I totally would have gone for him. But sadly, I was still slightly hung up over earlier this week.

Not that I could vent to anyone but Fiona and Declan about it.

"They're trashed," I said simply. "But it's cool. I'm going to Queen Street with Fiona tonight anyways, so I'll get some new ones while we're there."

"You better get a costume while you're there!" Adam said. I stopped, dead in my tracks. Shit. I'd completely forgotten about getting costumes!

"Crap!" I said it out loud, not meaning too. With all that'd been racing through my head all day, I hadn't even started to think about what I was going to wear. Usually, around Halloween, I had so many parties and events to go to that my PS, or personal stylist, Mel, just had a rack of costumes in my size on stand by in my dressing room at home. I would just pick whatever I wanted to go out in. But this year…I had to do it on my own. For the first time ever.

"Just let me know what you get so I can coordinate with you. I think Eli's doing the same with Clare." I gave Adam a pleased look, and leaned my head on his shoulder as we neared my class.

"You are seriously awesome. You know that?"

"It's been known to happen." I really think Eli is starting to effect Adam. Smugness is contagious.

_8:48 PM_

I GOT IT I GOT IT I GOT IT!

I finally got my Halloween costume! Well, costumes, plural. One for the dance, one for actual Halloween. That's a long story.

After I last wrote, Clare and I got to talking. And then I texted Fiona. And then we all decided it would be best if we all went shopping. Together. Holly J had some stuff she needed to get still, and Fiona never misses and excuse to shop. Clare needed to get her costume too. And after much prodding from me, and the temptation that afterwards we'd go see the new Fortnight movie in theatres, she agreed.

I also forgot to mention….someone bought me a ticket. For the dance, I mean. It wasn't Clare. It wasn't Eli. And it wasn't Adam. I'd found the envelope in my locker when I went to go get my lunchbox. It fell out when I opened my door, and Adam picked it up. I opened it to find a piece of folded paper that read _Hope to see you there._ And there was a ticket tucked inside. I asked Anya, who was manning the ticket table, if she knew who bought it, but she had no idea.

So someone wants me there, I guess.

As soon as school let out, we met Fi and Holly J at the Dot, got some lattes, and headed over to Queen Street. As Clare and Holly J explained through laughs, something happened last year with Clare and Declan? The second I mentioned what movie we were seeing after we all parted ways, Holly J looked fit to burst with laughter. Apparently, after Clare and KC broke up (HOW THE FUCK DID THAT GET STARTED? No offence, but Eli=much better), Clare got this crazy crush on Declan and started writing fan fiction about him. Fortnight crossover fan fiction.

I must admit, I was both surprised and pleased hearing this. I had no idea that Clare was _that _much of a writer. I mean, I knew she was good in English. I'd read her papers. But outside of class was a different story for most. I myself enjoyed a good Edmund fan fic every once in a while. That is…for the laughs. Edmund was _NOTHING _in comparison to Trevor, the lovable warewolf of the series.

We searched store after store, trying to find costumes. But no place seemed to have anything that was good.

I'm kind of hard to shop for, in case I haven't mentioned it before. I'm a size 11 in the hips, but a 6 in the top, so finding things that flatter is a pain in the ass. Clare seemed to share the same predicament as we tried on dress after pantsuit after lederhosen. Yes. I said lederhosen.

And finally, we found them. The first ones we found were for Halloween. We'd made plans with Eli, Adam, and then a few other randoms (Alli, Drew, Dave, Connor, etc) to go trick-or-treating in my neighborhood on Sunday night, and we all needed different costumes for that as well.

Clare found her Halloween costume first. A powder blue poodle skirt with a built in top that was hiding in the back racks of the vintage store we walked into as we were about to give up. And I found mine; a simple blue and white tank, with pieces of curling, translucent material in the same colors with rhinestones hanging down, and a pair of powder blue shorts, with flowy wings in the same colors and a rhinestone blue headband/stretchy…thingy. It was supposed to be some sort of water nymph thing. It looked cute as hell, and I'm pretty sure seeing Fitz's face when we stop by his house on Sunday will be lulz-worthy enough to cover the 70 dollar price tag.

Ugh. I'd been avoiding thinking about that all day. _Fitz_. Hearing the name made me want to hurl. Did I mention he got suspended? Yeah. For a week. I found out through Clare, who heard it from Alli, who heard it from Jenna, who heard Anya talking about it with Chantay, who heard it from Riley, who heard it from Owen. It's like a giant game of telephone. Only, it seems to be true. Because he wasn't at lunch when we went outside, and I haven't heard anything from him all day. Yesterday, I got about five text messages from him asking to meet him outside, or in some secluded classroom to "talk." As if! But Mrs. Torres apparently told Mr. Simpson what happened and he got called to the principals office this morning right before lunch. And I haven't heard from him since.

Clare and I found…._them_, just as we were about to leave the shop. I turned around, ready to leave, and saw a flash of red and white right out of the corner of my eye. They. Were. Perfect.

It took a little prodding to get Clare to try it on, but Holly J and I tag teamed and told her how Eli would just go nuts to see her in white. Little virginal Clare would just be all the more tempting in her dress.

I, on the other hand, had no one specific to tempt. So therefore, I just chose the one that was both sluttier, and more my style (even though usually the two don't go together).

In the end, we convinced her to get it. The price tags on either weren't that bad, and they came with the accessories, so the only thing we needed were shoes. As we were looking around the shoe section at Nordstrom, I realized I had a pair of white satin pumps that would look perf. with Clare's dress. So we went back home to my house, but when I got into the driveway, all four of us piled in my car, I noticed my mom's car was in the garage. She wasn't supposed to be home. She was going to something for my dad in the city. When we walked into the house, I heard talking coming from the Kitchen, and we all walked into the room.

Marcie. Marcie was sitting at the table with my mom.

Yeah. That's right. Best friend from back home Marcie.

I think the squeal I emitted was enough to break someone's ear drums.

**I knowww. It's been forever.**

**And I left you on kind of a cliffy. But it's for a reason, I promise. And yes, we will get into the dance for the next chapter.**

**PLEASE TELL ME YOU SAW TONIGHTS EPISODE? ECLARE IS OFFICIAL! *insert fangirl squee here***

**I wanted to punch Fitz in this chapter and tonight's episode. Seriously. I hope you all are realizing that the storylines are going to be different in this though. They'll follow similar patterns, but for the most part Fitz is a completely different person here. He's not as…vulgar. He sure as hell is vulgar, period. But not as much as in the show. But I promise, he changes soon :)**

**I'll update asap. I just started my sophomore year like…three days ago, so bare with me. I have like, four things due tomorrow alone.**

**XOXO Holly**


	7. October 28th, 9:27 PM

_October 28, 2010_

_9:27 PM_

Marcie and I did the whole jumping and squealing thing you see in the movies. I really never thought I'd do it, but in all seriousness, I'd never been away from my best friend since we were seven for more than a few days at a time for the last couple of years. She usually came on tour with me, and then we worked on a lot of the same projects, since both of us kind of hit our peak acting points at the same time last year, so we were always working together.

But I'd been gone for almost a month now. Last I was with Marcie she'd been going down a slippery slope. One I'm surprised to say I disapproved of.

There are very few things that make me loose respect for people; racism, intolerance, blatant bitchyness, and being a boyfriend stealer.

Sasha had texted me the week before I'd left, just as I was about to hang out with Marcie, telling me that she'd seen Marcie at Liquid, the new underground club that was basically a copy of the same club in the UK, with Nick Jonas. That wouldn't have been such a problem…had I not known that he and Selena were "back together." The press still doesn't know or anything, but they've been hanging out and they're pretty much a couple as far as all of us were concerned. I mean, I've known Selena since we were like…ten. Longer than I'd known Marcie. So I texted her right after receiving Sasha's, and asked her about it. She said she had no idea that Nick and Selena were back together, and she'd back off.

Two days later, Bridget (yes, Mendler, Miley's successor as Disney sweetheart, and personally one of the sweetest girls I know) MMSed me a pic of Nick and Marcie all over each other at the KCA's after party. My first reaction was surprise-Marcie knew that Nick was taken. My second was anger. I basically spent the next two hours at Marcie's berating her about the moral values Teen Stars need to uphold to be positive role models to the young girls (and guys) who look up to us.

In the end, I realized just how hypocritical my entire schpeal sounded. I mean, a Hollywood star being something to uphold? Hollywood lives on drama. It gorges itself in gossip. Which is why I got out.

Marcie, standing 5'6, just slightly shorter than me, with medium, bright red hair and dazzling green eyes, was the poster child for innocence. And yet she was sneaking around with someone else's boyfriend. In the end, she did stop seeing Nick. Bridget and Nicole (Anderson) kept an eye out for anything suspicious, but up to today I haven't gotten any texts from them about her.

It took us a few minutes to calm down and get out of best friends mode, finally turning back to Clare, Fiona and Holly J, who were still standing in the doorway, all looking slightly amused.

"Uh, guys, this is my best friend, Marcie. Marcie, these are my friends Holly J, Clare, and Fiona."

"From UAL?" I nodded. "So this is the infamous Fiona I heard so much about!" I blushed. Yeah, Marcie knew about Fiona. We were in NYC together that summer, while she did a movie and I took my classes and attempted to live normally (as a 14 year old living in the Big Apple with her best friend, only a year older-yeah, so normal). Marcie was usually so busy working that she couldn't even think about meeting my school friends, including Fiona, but I'd gabbed to her every night over ice cream and reruns of House about how great the people in my classes were, especially my partner in F&M.

Once everyone was introduced and had talked for a few, Holly J announced that she needed to be back at the school soon to set up some last minute things with Sav. Clare said we could postpone our movie plans, but I insisted that "we made a deal." So I changed out of my school clothes (a dress that, given that the last time I'd gone to the movies, the previous week with Clare and some kids from the youth center, I'd have frozen my ass off in) and into a pair of jeans and a tee, and we were on our way. We dropped Holly J off at the school, and Fiona off at the condo, where a smiling Declan came out to great us. Marcie looked as if her jaw had come unhinged.

Okay, yeah. Declan was hot. But she'd dated some of the hottest guys in the _world_.

You think I'm kidding? Her current black book contains the numbers, addresses and likes/dislikes of three of Italy's top models.

"Ladies night out?" Declan asked, leaning against Marcie's window. I saw her smile, and I did the same. Clare cleared her throat in the back.

"Hollie took me hostage and-

"Hey! I did not!"

"And made me go shopping. So I'm making them see the new Fortnight movie." Declan gave her a cheeky smile, and I couldn't help but doing the same. He was obviously thinking about the goings on of last year; I just rolled my eyes.

"Yeah. Can't _wait_." I gave a sarcastic smirk. "Now get off my car. We're going to be late."

"Oh, _feisty_," he said with a laugh. I rolled my eyes again, and inched back the car. His hands flew up, and he waved as we backed out.

"Holy Shit." Marcie's sudden choice of words made me let out a surprised giggle. "Hottie's totally into you!" For a minute, I thought she was talking to Clare. But when I glanced at her out of the side of my eyes, trying to keep them on the road, she was looking at me, her own eyes wide. I let out a loud snort.

"Declan? Aha." I laughed. "You're funny, Marc. Really."

"I'm serious," she said, turning to look at Clare. "Don't you think Declan likes her?" I looked in the rearview to see Clare looking nervous. Like she didn't want to answer. I raised my eyebrows at her.

"Uh…I don't know." She did the shifting of the mouth thing, and then shrugged. "I don't know. I mean, Hollie, you did say he was acting weird when you went over the other day." I gave her a death glare as Marcie sat up.

"Ohhh, playdates!"

"It wasn't a date! I was watching the French Film fest with him and his _sister_." I saw Marcie give me a pointed look. "He _doesn't _like me. He only came back to Canada to win back Holly J! He's just being himself."

"And himself likes you." I raised my eyebrows at her bad grammar and then rolled my eyes. But in the back of my mind, my thoughts were racing. Maybe Marcie was right. Maybe Declan _does _like me. I mean, it would explain the weird looks Declan kept giving me when we were watching the movies. And the odd reaction he'd had to finding out how upset I was about Fitz.

Nahhhh. Declan would never like me.

_October 29, 2010_

_4:52 AM_

_Location-Hollie's?_

_Feeling-tiredddddd_

Heyyy everyone (whoever this imaginary person is that I'm writing this to)! It's Marcie here! Hollie showed me her little diary thing…I can't actually read any of the older posts (password protected), but this thing seems pretty cool. Even if no one actually does read this thing. Ahaha. It's like she's talking to herself.

Oh geeze. My best friend has officially gone nuts.

But wait. I'm posting too.

Does that mean I've gone crazy? Ohnoes.

_12:45 PM_

Oh geeze, Marc . I just read her post from last night. Sorry! We were both a little out of it.

We pretty much stayed up all night last night, so I'm wiped. We were catching up on everything we hadn't already (almost daily Skype convos, with texts coming at a steady pace), and then wound up crashing at like, three in the morning.

Marcie's going tonight. Yeah. I just picked up her ticket from Anya. She said that people who don't go to the school can come, as long as they're with people from Degrassi, so she's going stag (in her words, "it's better than being the fifth wheel to your impeccable new quartet!"). She brought a few costumes, as she was forewarned by my mom what was going on. How she knew, I'll never know. Maybe she's been talking to Mrs. Edwards without my knowledge? I mean, the two did exchange numbers when we went to the youth center for the first time a few weeks back. But still.

Clare and Marcie seemed to get along, actually! I would normally have suspected that it was all just a formality because I was the monkey in the middle, and both of them know I can't stand it when my friends don't like each other (Marcie and Sasha, Marcie and Dakota….yeah no). They joked and laughed and made pokes at my odd habits (I'm sorry if I need at least 3 sodas a day to function!), and even tag teamed against me in a rousing Trevor VS Edmund debate after the movie let out.

T minus 6 hours and counting until the dance! I think for once I'm actually _excited _to go to one of these things. Usually, it's actually a pain in the ass to get ready for parties back in LA around Halloween, because a lot of them include photo-ops, and you have to be "picture perfect" for those. I'm excited that for this, I can just take a small, black wristlet with my phone, some blotting sheets and roll up flats for when my feet hurt and be fine.

Eli and Adam had gone to get their outfits as soon as I'd texted them last night, as we were waiting for the movie to start.

I'm seriously looking forward to tonight, though. I get the feeling things are going to be interesting.

_7:32 PM_

The second the bell rang, Clare, Alli and I hopped in my car and raced back to the house to start getting ready. I know what you're thinking. "Why the hell is Alli with you?" Well, first off, she's Clare's best friend, so I'm not going to like, totally ignore her. Secondly, she actually asked if she could get ready with us. Said she needed a photo opp with the two coolest girls around once we were all ready. I laughed, and told her not to be to obvious in posting them, for fear of Perez getting his hands on them, but agreed, and so we swung by her house where she had her costume (cleverly hidden under another, longer dress in the back of her closet).

As I sat, drying Claire's hair with a round brush and my ion hair dryer, Marcie was painting her nails and Alli sat on my laptop, surfing Twitter. She was clicking around on the screen, looking at people's profiles. I saw her go on one with a pink background, and she put her hand down, staring at a tweet on the screen.

And then she turned around, wide eyed. I saw her mouth "Hollie," so I turned off the hair dryer. "Come look at this." I set everything down and walked over to where she stood, peering over her shoulder. Marcie came up behind me.

"Peterson Goes Public!" read one of the tweets on the page.

Fucking _Perez_. I told her to click on it, and the page slowly opened, to reveal a picture of me, Clare and Marcie waiting in line at the movies the night before. At first glance, we looked relatively okay. But I glanced over at myself, and realized I looked like _shit_. No, seriously. Too tight jeans with a squeazy tee, not a good idea. And my makeup? Totally ruined.

I hadn't even seen anybody with a camera there. But apparently _Trish M _had seen us, and taken pictures. WHAT THE FUCK, TRISH? (Not that I know who that person is, or anything.)

It made me realize that I'm not as safe as I should be about who I'm with outside. I mean, at school, the paps can't even come near us. They have to stay something like, three hundred feet away from the school grounds themselves. So I'm safe there. And my neighborhood is gated with a guard, so I'm good at home too. But my first relatively public outing with a friend from back home, and we're on Perez's front page.

Just. Freaking. Wonderful.

We were ready by seven, and after a mini photo op with all three girls in my closet (one wall was all mirrors), the doorbell rang. The four of us squealed in unison, like something out of a cheesy TV sitcom, but before anyone else could make a fool of themselves, I lead everyone upstairs and answered the door myself. My jaw dropped when it opened to reveal the three boys waiting for us, looking, if I do say so myself, quite spiffy.

Drew was dressed in a kind of Arabian Nights type of outfit, very Aladdin-esque, to match Alli's jeanie outfit that barely covered her boobs. Adam, looking super adorable, was wearing a pair of white dress pants, a white button up, and a white skinny suit blazer, a small pair of Angel wings donning his back. And Eli…damn you, Eli. Literally. He wasn't done up any more than usual, wearing a pair of black skinny jeans, a black button up, and a red blazer, with black dress shoes. But he had a small black headband on with red devil horns sticking out of them, and a red tail sticking out of the bottom of his dress shirt.

We'd planned this all out. Since Alli and Drew were matching, we figured it'd only be appropriate that, since we were all going as a group, we would go with some sort of similar theme (minus Marcie, who was dressed in a sort of Cinderhella thing from Party City). So we'd picked Angels and Demons, or in our case, Angels and Devils.

Clare matched Adam, wearing a white, drapey dress and a huge pair of white feathered wings, with my white patent leather pumps to give her just above the knee dress a little umph. I'd used my round brush to make her hair straight, but give her body at the same time, so it was a little bit different from the usual. They were the "Heaven Twins." I wore a similar dress in red silk, with red sequins stitched at the bottom, and a tail attached through a hole in the back, my red patent platforms, with my hair curled and a headband like Eli's, since I was the other "Hell Twin." Adam and I came up with the idea that if Clare and he matched, and then Eli and I matched, it'd be a little less awkward than making Clare and Eli brother and sister as devils. I mean, we wanted them to get together. And making out with your pseudo brother? Yeah. AWKWARD.

Plus, if I remember correctly…Eli and I are the hellions of this group, anyways. Adam and Clare already have wings practically growing out of their backs, little invisible Halo's floating above their heads.

"You guys all look great," Adam said, leading the way into the house for the rest of the guys. I pulled him into a hug, and inspected him from head to toe. He wasn't wearing a beanie for a change! I ruffled his hair, and he laughed. Clare gave Eli a shy smile.

"You look good, Eli," she said.

"No more than usual." I rolled my eyes at his response. "But you look great, Blue eyes. I always knew you were meant to be an angel." Clare grinned then, and I don't think she could have been happier hearing a compliment from Robert Pattinson himself.

We were taking two separate cars, Alli and Drew, Eli and Clare in Morty, and then Me, Marcie and Adam in the other. Mostly to force Eli and Drew to make conversation, but also because my car barely fits four people, much less seven.

Arriving at the dance was almost as much fun as getting ready. They had the lame-oid pumpkins and hay lining the stairs at the venue, and as we walked up, I was snapping pictures of the people below me, making cheesy faces and giggling. We got inside, and the first thing I heard was _Boots and Boys_. I glanced back at Adam, and he glanced at me. And then I dragged him onto the dance floor. He was my partner for the night, and I was going to dance, damn it!

Everyone else started dancing, one by one, and I have to say I was having a good time. Marcie, Adam, Eli, Clare and I had kind of made this group, and me and Marcie were pulling out some of our old dancing tricks from LA. Twenty minutes in, and I was already starting to break a sweat.

"Bathroom time!" I called out, and Marcie, Clare, and Alli, who was near by with Drew, Jenna and KC, all turned around and nodded. Just like that. They knew to come with me. The entire idea made me giggle inside. Actually, it made me giggle on the outside too. As we made our way to the bathroom, we passed a couple getting pretty hot and heavy in the JT Yorke Memorial area outside. I wonder who JT Yorke is. No one's really mentioned it, but I saw the sign when I was out there the other day with Alli and Clare, working on our Algebra II. We primped in the bathroom for a few minutes, using my blotting sheets and Alli's backup eyeliner pencil to fix everything, and with a flip of the hair (and an adjusting of the basoomas, in Marcie's double D case), we pranced out, ready to get back on the dance floor.

But we didn't. Because the second we got back in the Room, Anya, dressed as a cowgirl, pulled us all to the side (I introduced her to Marcie), and then forced us onto this graveyard photo backdrop with hay and pumpkins. We posed for picture after picture in different groups, yanking the boys off the dance floor too and taking pictures with them. Wesley, who was in my Algebra class, was the photographer, and he laughed at the stupid poses we did. Adam and I posed together, then Eli and I , and then Clare and I, then Eli and Clare, Clare and Adam, and so forth, until everyone'd been with everyone. We even got Drew and Alli doing some sort of belly dance thing (definitely not the real thing, because I know how to do that!). We were all laughing so hard by the end of it that we escaped back onto the floor holding our stomachs.

We got back to dancing pretty quickly, and continued for a good half hour. I could feel my abs getting a work out already. Clare seemed to be letting loose a little bit, attempting some of the moves Marcie and I did with a surprising amount of grace. Maybe she'd danced before? Alli sure as hell knew how to move though. Adam and Eli were making their best attempts, but all Adam could manage was a few hip shakes and hands above head type of motions. We were mid-way though the chorus of Good Girls Go Bad when Adam announced he'd be back in a few, presumably to pee and get a drink or something. I waited, and a minute later, I felt someone behind me. I looked to my right to see Marcie looking as surprised as me. Someone dressed in a zombie mask had come up behind her, and was grinding against her backside. And she didn't really seem to mind it either. I, on the other hand, was slightly surprised by the feeling of someone so close to me, and turned around to see Tyler looking ridiculously cocky, smirking down at me. Jesus he was tall.

"Uh, can I help you?" I asked, crossing my arms.

"I just wanna dance," he said, smiling. I raised my eyebrows.

"That's not dancing. That's harassment." He laughed.

"Come on, baby," he started, coming closer to me.

"What the hell is it with you and you friends calling me baby?" I took a step back, and shook my head. "I'm no one's baby."

"You could have mine." I think I actually laughed at that one. But before I could respond, someone came up behind me, and I heard them speak before I could turn around.

"Back off, dude. She obviously doesn't wanna dance with you." I felt a strong hand on my shoulder, and despite the fact that I had no idea who was talking, I stepped back till I was flush against the person behind me. The way Tyler was looking at me…It made chills follow up my spine. Tyler seemed unfazed, until he got a good look at the person behind me. And then, without a word, just a nod, he walked away. As soon as he was out of sight, I turned to see who he was so afraid of. And came face to face with…

Bill Clinton?

_9:49 PM_

When I turned around, to say I was surprised to see the former president was an understatement.

No, it wasn't really HIM. I would have flipped a shit if there was an actual US president at a school dance. A Canadian school, none the less.

But there was a guy, a guy a good half a foot taller than me, wearing a complete suit and tie, and a Clinton mask. I let out a little laugh before saying "Uh, thanks for that."

"No problem." When he spoke, it sounded almost…edited. Like he had a voice changer inside his mask. But it did actually sound like Clinton. "Tyler's an ass. It's been known to happen." His chest shook with laughter, and I smiled. And then, the music changed. It was one of my favorite Taylor Swift songs, Crazier.

I said "I love this song!" at the same time the guy said "I hate this song…" It was awkward. Until he held out his hand. Long and lanky, towards me. "You wanna, uh…dance?" I thought for a minute. Adam would be back any second, and probably would be a little mad that I was dancing with some random guy. A guy I don't even know. But there was something in his voice, however computer generated it was, that seemed genuine and kind. I nodded, and as the music continued, my hands went up to wrap around his neck, and his settled on my waist.

"I can't believe you hate Taylor Swift," I said, shaking my head. "Who the hell hates Taylor Swift?" He shook his head back and laughed.

"I don't hate her. It's just this song. I have this friend…she likes to play his on repeat. It gets annoying after about the tenth time." I rolled my eyes. Sounds like something _I _would do.

"So." We swayed along to the music, and I looked at over his shoulder. Clare and Eli were dancing too, and I couldn't help the little smile that came to my face. They turned, and when she finally got to where she could see me, her eyebrows shot up. I gave a tiny shrug of my shoulders and gave her a look back that said "Hey, it's okay with me." "So, do I get to know the name of my savior?"

"Savoir?" he asked, laughing.

"Well you did save me from being dry humped by Tyler." I let out a little snort after I spoke, and he shook his head. "Come on, just the teensiest of hints?" He seemed to smile under the mask, and then spoke.

"Well, I think you've seen me around. Maybe once or twice."

"Only a few times, then?" I glanced up at him. "I've met a lot of people recently, in case you haven't noticed. So most people haven't really stuck with me unless I hang out with them a lot."

"I think you might remember me." I cocked my head to the side, confused.

"Oh, Why's that?"

"I just think you would." The way he said it…he sounded so sure. I took a minute to run my eyes over him. He was taller than me, but not taller than Tyler. Medium build. The way his chest'd felt when I'd backed into it, it was strong and firm, but not too built. And that hair…sticking out from behind his mask. It was a dark brown, but I could see hints of auburn where the lights from the stage hit it. No. I stepped closer, and inhaled. The sent was familiar. He'd said one of his _friends _played Crazier on repeat. Before he could stop me, I reached forward, hitching my thumb under the side of his mask, and pulled.

"FITZ?"

I yelled it, being me and the loud person I am. The immediate people around us turned to look, and I took an involuntary step back. What the _hell _was Fitz doing here? He was SUSPENDED. Didn't that mean no coming to school functions too? I mean. I'm new to this whole school thing, but I'm pretty sure that's how it works.

Of course, I chose to say this so loud that the people around us not only looked, but got quiet. And, it was just as Adam walked in. I was still holding the mask in my hand, but before I could say anything else, I felt someone else behind me. Actually, scratch that. Two people; one on each side. I saw a long, lanky hand reach for my shoulder, and didn't have to look back to know who the owner of it was. Eli, with his skull rings and sharpie colored nails. But it wasn't him that spoke.

"I thought you got _suspended_." It was a clear statement. It wasn't Eli, but I recognized the voice; it was Drew. Drew was sticking up for me, as Adam made his way over. The idea was laughable in my head, but at the moment I was too surprised and mad to even think clearly.

"Uh," Fitz started. He looked a little…scared. "We did." I couldn't help but catch the glance he gave over to the guy standing relatively close to Marcie, still wearing the zombie mask. She seemed to notice too, because the next second she was ripping off the guys mask. _Owen._ You mother chucker.

"Well then what are you doing here?" Eli seemed as though he was seething.

"I, uh. Well, I…" He gave me a pointed look, and I think I understood what he meant. He was there to see _me_. Me. And I had no intention of talking to him. He'd made it very clear that my attempts at friendship with him were pretty much pointless. And yet he wanted to dance with me? What the hell.

"Just get out." The words came out of my mouth this time, and I crossed my arms. "Seriously. Just get out before I tell Simpson that you're here." His eyes narrowed.

"You wouldn't."

"Wanna bet?" He could obviously tell that I was being serious, because the next thing I knew, he was gesturing for Owen and Tyler to get out. And for the first time, I realized how quiet things were around us. Like some big fight was about to happen. Had he not left, I might have put my heel to use. But he did, throwing me a final glance over his shoulder before walking out after Tyler and Owen. I felt a pang in my chest, almost feeling sorry for not talking to him. But what's done was done, and I was ready to start dancing again. I thanked Drew and Eli for sticking up with me, and ignored Adam's questioning as the music changed again, going back to a rock pop song that I'm pretty sure was from somewhere on the back lurches on my iPod. Twenty minutes later, I was ready for a break. I would have asked one of the girls to go with me, but Ali and Drew were mid lip-lock, Marcie was slow dancing with Dave (don't ask me how that happened, but I'm assuming it wasn't her choice, judging by the look on her face), and Clare was doing the same with Eli. I told Adam to watch them, and then headed towards the exit.

I needed some air. Fresh air, that wasn't filled with sweat or the smell of disinfectant, like the bathrooms. I walked out the door, and down the stairs, adjusting the strap on my wrist and pulling my phone out as I stepped into the alley, breathing in the fresh (ish) air around me.

"I figured you'd be out pretty soon." The voice came from behind me, and I jumped. Whoever that was scared the shit out of me. I turned slowly, phone still in hand, and saw a figure coming out of the shadows next to the wall. Oh. My. God. Did he not learn the first time? "You mentioned you don't like to stay in parties too long. You always take a break and go outside at some point." I gave Fitz a look after he spoke.

"Has anyone ever told you that you have a really creepy memory?" He smiled.

"Only when it comes to certain people." I crossed my arms again.

"Can I help you with anything? Or are you just here to harass me and my friends, as per usual?"

"I'm not trying to harass anyone." He took another step forward, towards me, and I stepped back. "Hollie, please, just listen to me." He wanted to talk. That was the _last _thing I wanted to do. I turned, and took a step towards the stairs.

"Tell this to someone who wants to listen." I started to walk up the stairs, and I felt him grab my arm.

"Please." I turned back around for a brief second, ready to tell him to back the fuck off. But I caught his eyes, and was instantly stopped in my tracks. Those sapphires, however entrancing they usually are, were swimming with wetness and looked ready to spill over. I don't know what made me do it, but I went back down the step I'd gone up, and stood in front of him.

"What…what's wrong?" He blinked a few times, seeming to realize that his eyes were watering.

"Can…can we just talk for a few minutes? Not yell. Not scream. Just talk?" He seemed to be relatively genuine. I was already back down on the ground, just feet away from him. Why not? I agreed, and we sat on two bins sitting in the alley. Both looked kind of grimy, but I sat on the edge so I didn't get my butt dirty.

"So…"

"So…." Fitz clasped his hands together in his lap, looking down at them. Words usually came so easy to me; from what I could tell from previous conversations, they came pretty easily to him too. He could generally hold a pretty decent conversation. But he seemed at a loss for words; for a start. "Hollie, I'm not the guy you think I am." I gave him a half sarcastic look, confused.

"What, did you suddenly turn into Peter Parker? Got a double life I don't…." I trailed off as I saw the look on his face, and then realized what I was saying. He _did _have a double life. But that's not what I'd meant. So I asked him what _he _meant.

"I'm not this guy you make me out to be. You see me as this sweet, caring, nice guy. And I'm not."

"But you are."

"I'm really not." He looked back down at his hands, and then finally back at me. "At least, not all the time." He looked behind me, seemingly trying to avoid eye contact. "And…I can't be. At least, not right now. At this moment." I gave him a confused glance, and he sighed. "Hollie, what do I like?"

"You like…" I trailed off, trying to gather up the conversations we'd had. Not much had been passed so far, but I knew a few things. "You like Dane Cook, and your mother's meatloaf. You like Dr. Pepper and Pringles and English and Books and Sci Fi movies and…" I was at a loss again, and I sat there, in silence, trying to think of more, before Fitz spoke again.

"And do any of those last few ones sound like things that one of the meanest guys in school would like?" I jerked back, surprised.

"You're not one of the meanest guys in school." He gave me a look, and I rolled my eyes. "But no, I suppose not."

"Right. And I can't just go from being two different people-the one you know, who likes all those things-and the one that people see at school, who likes to put people down and smoke and just…be an ass, to being one person overnight. People would think I'd had some sort of psychotic break." I started to say "But-" but he cut me off before I could start.

"But I'm willing to try. To go slowly." He gave me a small smile, and I felt my heart flutter for the first time in a while. "I'm going to try to change. Because I know that I can be a better person, inside and out, around everyone." I blink for a few seconds, trying to process everything. He was going to change. He was going to _try _to change. But why?

"Why?" He looked surprised that I asked.

"Because you showed me how different I am. Comparing it the way you did-me around you and my mom, and me around my friends or Eli or Adam, or even Bianca. I'd rather be the first person, and have the respect of two great people, then be the second and have the respect of a bunch of druggies and bullies." My heart swelled with admiration for him. He was willing to change. For not only his mother, but for me. But there was something I needed to know; and another I needed him to know.

"I still don't get why you started this whole massive case of multiple personality disorder in the first place." I crossed my arms and tilted my head to the side, as he sighed again and looked back down at his hands. "Fitz, come on." He looked back up, and then looked up to the sky, as if trying to think. He gestured for me to look up, and I did.

"What do you see?" he asked. I looked around, trying to think of something to say. The only things I could see were the smoke curling up from the pipe in the roof of The Dot, and…

"The stars."

"Exactly." He looked back down, so I followed. "When I lived in LA, I never used to see stars. I could sit out for hours and hours when I was a kid, just waiting for one to pop up."

"You can never see them out there," I started. "You have to go into the-

"Country, I know. I'm getting there, Hollie." He gave me a wry smile. "I used to sit out on these dingy old lawn chairs around the pool in our old apartment complex in Augora, just looking up. My dad, he would come out and sit with me. And drink. This was when I was little, probably like…six or seven. I would get excited when I thought I saw a shooting star, but every time, Phil would correct me and say it was 'just a fucking airplane.' Every single time, I would get so excited, just to see something that linked everyone in the world-that single constellation that everyone saw at some point during the year-only to be let down." I gave him a sad smile as he continued. "That was when things started getting bad.

I've always been kind of a mama's boy. You know that-you've seen it. But my dad, Phil…I never really got along with him. I was so close to my mother. Every time they would fight, I would hide behind my mom and cower. The one time I tried to stick up for her, I wound up with two broken bones. She had me trained to be kind, considerate. Respectful. He, on the other hand, when she was out with Becca or with her friends, would take me out to clubs and bars-leave me in the back rooms with off duty strippers or bartenders while he got smashed or screwed-sometimes both.

Then he would go home and accuse my mom of cheating, like he hadn't just banged a girl in fishnets against a wall." He rolled his eyes, like he'd become detached, and my heart went out to him. "So around him, I was his strong, rude, pompous little boy. I was everything he wanted me to be. But around my mom, I turned back into what I am with you. And I think that's why he hated me so much, and eventually left. My mom cared more about me, loved me more, because he wasn't able to switch out of jackass mode, and I was." He let out a laugh, and shook his head. "That's why I stick to what I do, though. I know that I don't always do the right things, but Tyler and Owen still seem to look up to me. Even if they do go a little rogue, and sometimes get out of hand."

"That's an understatement," I snorted. He gave me a drowsy, sarcastic look and I raised my eyebrows, challenging. I wanted to be playfull. I wanted to be light and airy, like there wasn't something nagging at the back of my head. But for right now, that could wait. Right now, things were back to normal. "So you were the one who put the ticket in my locker?" I'd worked it out on the dance floor. The hand writing, when I tried to remember what the note Fitz'd left me the first day we'd hung out, looked similar. Too similar to be coincidence. He blushed and nodded.

"I put it in your locker right before I got sent to the principals office."

"How'd you convince your mom to let you out? That is, assuming she knows you were suspended."

"Actually, she doesn't." He gave me a grin. "They called Ben because Mom went back to LA for the week. She's still not back…and Ben and I made a deal that he wouldn't tell her…if it never happened again. That is, after I help him clean the garage out tomorrow." I laughed.

"I wish you luck with that." He rolled his eyes at me, and I rolled mine right back. "Ben seems cool. You two seem to get along."

"We do. A lot better than my dad and I did, I'll tell you that." He shook his head, just as I heard the door open above us and someone called "Hollie?"

"Crap." I knew that voice. It was Marcie. "Listen, text me later, okay?" I stood up, and tried to dust off my dress to hide any signs that I'd been sitting. "I better get back in there." I turned to walk away, and got to the end of the alley, and then turned back. Fitz was watching me, a look of mild amusement on his face. "See you," I mouthed, and then turned back around, sauntering up the stairs to Marcie's calls.

We stayed another half hour or so. Declan and Fiona showed up shortly after I got back in, fashionably late, as always. Declan was, amusingly enough, a vampire (yeah, Clare blushed), and then Fiona was dressed in some snazzy cabaret dress. She looked kind of drunk, like she'd had a little too much to drink before she'd come, but seemed to have a rousing time none the less.

The final songs, I danced with Adam, and then Declan actually asked to dance with me for the last one, which was Like You Do by Angel Taylor. As Declan wrapped his arms around my waist, I gave Adam a pointed look over his shoulder, gesturing to Fiona, who was standing awkwardly by the drink table. He raised his eyebrows, and I nodded, giving him another look back. I watched him walk over to her, hand rubbing the back of his neck (does every guy do that?), and they spoke for a minute. Fiona, still looking slightly out of it, smiled, and I grabbed Declan's attention and pointed them out to him. We both grinned at them as they walked onto the dance floor. Adam was actually slightly taller than Fiona, despite the fact that he was almost a full year younger than her. Marcie spent the last dance out on the sidelines, watching all of us and snapping the occasional picture with my phone (my texts were password protected, though I'd already spilled to her about the whole Fitz dilemma last night, still thinking that it was totally over).

In the end, the entire night was actually…fun. Something I hadn't really expected to have out here. But it was. Things were okay with Fitz, my best friend was back with me, and I looked, if I do say so myself, pretty damn fine in my dress.

Clare, Marcie and I are all back at my house now. As soon as we got home, we all changed immediately into our PJ's. Heels and dresses all night will make you realize how much you love sweats and tanks.

Right now I'm waiting for Cinderella to load. We all feel that it might encourage us to go find our prince charmings. A little voice in the back of my head is telling me that I may have already found mine. That is, if he likes me like that. At the moment, it seems like I'm still stuck in the honorable friends zone with him. And I'm not even sure if I want a relationship right now. School and friends are my focus. And I'm especially not sure if I want a boyfriend like Fitz, who's more than likely going to drag me into some weird situations on his road to becoming a good person. I don't even know if I want anything as serious as a boyfriend, even. Just…have fun. And I know exactly who I want to have fun _with_.

_October 30, 2010_

_10:45 PM_

_Location-home_

_Feeling-loved :)_

So I'm back at home with Marcie. It's actually been a pretty busy day. We woke up around noon to find my mom in the kitchen on her phone with my dad. She was trying to set up a weekend that Dad could come down to stay with us, just to visit. I about broke the sound barrier, I was so happy. I miss my dad sooo much. The only times I ever talk to him are through hurried emails or rushed phone calls occasionally, so it'd be good to have him here for a bit. To finally see this property he's helping pay for, and the school he's entrusting his daughter's education in.

Aw, who am I kidding. The only things we'll be doing while he's here is watching daddy-daughter horror movies (where I'll spend half the time cowering in the corner, like I had with Fitz).

Speaking of Fitz, I've been texting him all day. He sent one off to me the second I got out of the dance, just a simple "Hey." But we were at it pretty much all night, talking about music, movies, even TV shows.

After Clare went home, Marcie and I actually wound up going over to Fiona's for a few hours. Declan showed up like, halfway through and crashed beside me on the long couch. Made himself right at home. On. My. Lap.

He sighed, setting his feet on my legs and kicking off his shoes.

"Ewwww. What the hell, Declan?" I tried to shove them off, and he smirked at me from the other side of the couch. "Declan." His feet wouldn't budge. And the more I pushed them off, the harder he pushed them into my lap. Fiona and Marcie were giving us these looks-neither of them knew about Fitz from last night, and I'd been ignoring Marcie's questioning about who I'd been texting all day- that read "flirt, much?" I rolled my eyes and finally gave up, letting his feet sit there for the remainder of the program (which was a re-run of NYC Prep that Fiona swears was based off of a scandal that happened at Vanderbilt). We made our final plans for tomorrow. Fiona's having some sort of house warming party with all of her friends from NYC coming in, and I promised we'd stop by before going trick-or-treating.

Yeah, I was going trick-or-treating. Like a five year old.

And I am so freaking excited.

_October 31, 2010_

_6:52 PM_

_Location-Bedroom_

_Feeling-excited!_

IT'S HALLOWEEN!

My god. My first Halloween off. And what am I doing, you might ask? Marcie's makeup. Of course.

Clare's already dressed, poodle skirt and all, and I'm halfway their, decked in a strapless bra and a pair of white boy shorts to go under the ones that came with the costume. Yeah. I was running around in my underwear. But it's not like it was anyone else besides me, Clare and Marcie getting ready! I feel like I'm going to a premiere or something. I'm just so excited! I haven't been trick or treating since I was about two. And I went with my dad to Trick or Treat for Unicef, while cameras followed us. So not exactly the most normal experience.

_9:13 PM_

Just got back from Fiona's. Eli and Adam met us at the house before hand, Eli dressed in his usual, every day attire, the only change being that he was wearing a tee shirt with a skeleton outline on it (he claimed he was dressed up-as himself; ahaha), and Adam was dressed in his usual clothes too, but was donned in a huge wizard cap (pointy tip and everything) with Mickey Mouse ears sticking out of the sides. I didn't even bother asking why he'd picked _that _to wear, but I made him take it off on the car ride over. Eli called shotgun before we were even out the door, so Clare sat in the middle of the back, between Marcie and Adam. By the time we got to Fiona's, things were already in full swing. Declan greeted us at the door, handing each of us a glass of champagne. We all took one, but I watched as Clare faked a sip, and then set it down on the table with the food when she thought no one was looking.

I only had one glass, same as Eli and Adam, but Marcie went right along with Fiona, flagging Declan down for re-fills like it was ice water. It was mostly stiffs from New York-the kind of people that're good to be seen with, but not fun to be around. I stood most of the time with Clare, Eli and Adam, giggling about what someone was wearing-I'd foregone my fairy costume and was back in the red outfit from the night before, having decided that flashing the people that showed up on Page 6 on a regular basis probably wasn't a good idea.

People stopped by our group occasionally, having recognized me. A few people I knew or had met before-stadium owners daughter, politician's grand daughter. All of them asked about how I was, what I'd been doing in my off time aside from school. My answer was always the same; "Good….and living." I was just…living life. How it should be lived, without the lights, camera, action.

_November 1, 2010_

_11:29 AM_

I don't know why I couldn't sleep longer.

I should be exhausted. After last night, I think I have the right to curl up in a ball and cry for a few solid hours. Not that I didn't do that when I got home.

I'll just start from where I left off last. Fiona's party, right?

We got home early enough; kids were starting to go in, after having gone to get their candy as the sun was setting. I did a quick change, something I've become quite good at after the last few years on tour, we grabbed our respective candy holders (Clare and I had blue buckets, Eli and Adam had pillowcases-yeah, I know-and Marcie, having decided not to partake in the funness, just had a simple black wristlet to hold her phone in, which matcher her ridiculously short pirate dress she had on). You have no idea the amount of prodding it took to get Eli to Trick or Treat. Sure, he loved Halloween. Horror movies on TV, cheap, wholesale candy at the store (both of which I always loved too), but it took some major compromising to get him to carry around a pillowcase and go door to door.

I got outside, and headed straight for the left. Yeah. I was avoiding Fitz's house. He'd told me to stop by on my route, and we could act all mean towards each other, like I'd forgotten it was his house. He thought it would be funny. I thought it was just a waste of my acting skills.

We made a loop around the block, Clare, Adam, Eli and me going to each door (though Eli took some prodding), coming back onto the right side of my house. And finally…we arrived.

"Hey, guys," I started, trying to speed walk past it. "Why don't we just…go back home. We could turn on Chiller and scarf down some of this candy." I held up my bucket, which was starting to overflow. Everyone threw me looks, but Marcie seemed to realize I was specifically avoiding this house.

"No, wait." She stopped everyone. "Why don't we go up? I wanna see what Hollie's so scared of." My eyes widened, and after Clare and Eli started towards the door, I caught up with Marcie and pinched her on the arm. "Ow! What the fuck?"

"What the fuck is right!" I whispered. "What are you _smoking_? This is _Fitz's _house." Her eyes widened, but before she could get everyone to stop, Clare had already knocked on the door. I pushed my way to the front, just as the door opened, and a very annoyed looking Fitz answered the door, holding a bowl of candy. Clare started to say "Trick or…" but stopped short.

"Fitz?" Adam said, surprised. "What are you doing here?" Fitz gave Adam a look that would have made even the smartest person in the world feel stupid, and then another semi-pathetic glance a me, whom I'm sure he noticed the second he answered the door, considering my outfit was extremely shiny.

"I live here, dumbass." Classic Fitz. I gave him a scolding glare over Adam's shoulder, and leaned closer to him.

"I told you, remember? The other day? That he lived down the street." Adam's mouth opened to say something, but Fitz cut him short.

"Don't you four look cute." He glanced around the group, and realized Marcie was with us. "Five, I mean." He seemed to give everyone a once over, glaring at Eli and Adam, and then got to me. I saw his eyes bulge when he saw what I was wearing. I smiled to myself, and put an arm on Adam's shoulder.

"Thanks. Now can you please just give everyone some candy so we can get the heck out of here?" I raised my eyebrows at him, and then gave him a look to tell him not to make any more trouble. If I had to act anymore, I might as well go back to LA. As he put a handful of candy in Eli and Adam's bags (with a disgusted snarl on his face that actually looked pretty cute), I heard footsteps from inside the house and someone started to say "Mark? Honey, who's at the-

And then Mrs. Fitzgerald opened the door. I stood halfway behind Adam, so she couldn't see most of what I was wearing, but I still felt pretty damn embarrassed. I mean, no, I wasn't her son's girlfriend or anything, but I didn't want to be labeled as slut right off the bat, even if Fitz and I were just friends. "Oh!" she said, surprised. "Hollie! Good too see you, dear." She gave me a warm smile, and inspected the people around me. Her eyes sat on Marcie for a second, inspecting her dress, and I felt the urge to rip Eli's blazer off to hand to her to cover up. Mrs. Fitzgerald looked back at me, and cocked her head to the side. "Are you kids going to the same get-together as Mark tonight?" She looked to him, seeming to search for something. "Where was it again? Owen's? Tyler's?"

"Bianca's." The word seethed out of his mouth, like he wished his mom hadn't said anything. And I'll admit; I was right there with him. I could have gone a long while without knowing that Fitz was going to be within two miles of that toothpick thin, big haired, Jerseylicious wanna be.

"I don't think so," I said lightly. "Bianca doesn't really…like any of us." I gestured to the people behind me, and saw Clare's eyebrows knit together to my side.

"Well, I don't believe that for a second!" She waved the towel she held in her hand out in the air, as if waving off a far fetched idea. "You're such a sweet girl." I blushed. She'd met me once and thought I was a sweet girl. (Note to self-never cuss or use dirty jokes in front of Mrs. F). "Here," she said, moving away from the door. "I bet you all would be welcome if you went. I'll get something so Mark can write down the address." She disappeared from view, and Fitz got that disgusted, almost embarrassed look on his face again.

"Gee, thanks, _Mark_," Eli sneered from behind me. I fought the urge to laugh as I turned around at the same time as Clare and simultaneously threw Eli a glare. Before anything else happened, I told everyone I'd meet them back at the house after getting the address, and Clare gave me a confused look over her shoulder as they walked away. I just shrugged.

"Here we go!" Mrs. F came back into view, only for a second, to take the candy bowl from Fitz and hand him the (flowered) paper and (fuzzy) pen and give him an expectant look. The second she was out of earshot, he collapsed against the doorframe, one hand going to his forehead.

"I can't believe she just did that," he said, shaking his head. "She's usually not that embarrassing. She could have totally let your friends onto everything."

"I think my mom beats yours," I said with a similar headshake. "She asked me if you were coming over to help paint my room the other day." His eyes widened, and he let out a surprised little laugh. It was cute.

"You really wanna go tonight?" He seemed surprised still, and his eyebrows knit together. "I wasn't going to go originally cause, you know, Bianca's parties…well they aren't really at her house, they're at the ravine. And people are usually high as a kite or drunk off their asses by the time I manage to get out the door." Awww. He was going to skip a party to avoid being bad! "But if you're going, I might be able to abstain." He gave me a cheeky smile, and I rolled my eyes.

"How am I supposed to sneak out with everyone here? Everyone's staying over." His eyebrows shot up.

"Everyone?"

"Yes, Fitz, _everyone_." I rolled my eyes. "Because, and while this may come as a shock to you, Eli and Adam are not as horemone riddled and ready to jump, or should I say, hump, as your friends are. We've had a boy-girl sleepover before, we'll have one again." His eyes narrowed, and I let out a little laugh. "Oh come on, Fitz. The only two in this situation likely to have anything happen are Clare and Eli, and apparently that only happens in their sleep." I shrugged, and he shook his head.

"You confuse me, Peterson."

"Likewise, Fitzgerald."

In the end, I went back to the house, my mind racing. I made it downstairs, avoiding my mother's questioning, and found everyone in the living room, gathered on the couch, talking.

"I can't believe that was Fitz's mother." That was the first thing Adam said.

"_Mark_," Eli scoffed, shaking his head. This seemed to be _severely _amusing to him.

"I think we should go." It wasn't my response to anyone. It was just a point blank statement. Marcie's look of surprise was the worst; she had no idea that Fitz had approached me last night-what he'd said, what he'd promised.

"Are you serious?" Clare asked.

"Are you _high_?" I gave Eli my worst look, and shook my head.

"Come on. It's a _party._" I sat down next to Clare and looked up at everyone. "I haven't been to a party here yet." Adam opened his mouth to speak. "And no, I don't count the snooze fest we just went to or the dance a party." He closed his mouth, and I knew I'd said exactly what he was about to.

"But Fitz will be there," Clare stressed. "And Owen and Tyler and Bianca and-

"And we probably won't see any of them," I said with a shake of my head. "It's a party. I rarely ever have time to sit down and chat with the hosts of parties I go to."

"I say we go," Marcie said out of the blue. I gave her a thankful smile, but in return she gave me a confused look. I knew that look. It was her "what the hell are you doing?" look.

"Well…first thing's first," I started, standing back up. "What exactly is this 'ravine'?"

Turns out, this ravine place was basically a big area of the woods close to the school, only about a five minute drive from my house. Clare explained, as she, Marcie and I freshened up in my room, that the Ravine was basically the place people went to get one of two things; trashed or layed. None of us were planning on doing either, but we'd see how the night went, as Marcie said.

Clare, Marcie and I followed Eli and Adam in my car, trailing behind Morty as we pulled into a few spaces in front of some trees. I put my top up for good measure, and made sure the door was locked. Clare was right; this place was kind of trashy. In the back of my mind, I was wondering why she'd ever been there in the first place, but put my questions aside as we walked closer to the sounds of people. There was definitely a party going on; in full swing, it sounded like. When we finally went through the last of the surrounding trees, there were tons of people in different groups, a fire in the dead center of everyone. Before I could make sight of anyone I recognized as Bianca, Fitz or any of the possy, I heard Alli's voice call "Clare?" She seemed to detach herself from Drew, who's lap she'd been sitting on, and came over to us. She looked slightly out of it; drugs or alcohol, I wasn't sure, but she'd had something. "What're you guys doing here?" she asked, coming up to us.

"We got the invite," Marcie said coolly, giving Alli a smile. "Figured we'd come check it out. Tonight's my last night in town." I hadn't really though about that. She was heading home tomorrow. The thought, at that moment, made me a little depressed. Until I saw Fitz out of the corner of my eyes. He grinned at me, and I gave a shy smile back, then glancing at the people behind me.

"Uhh…I'm gonna go…get a drink. I'll be back in a minute." I walked over to the drink table, glancing over the options on the table. Most of it was cheep beer, and there were some vodka bottles lying around too. But there was a full case of water bottles on the side of the table. Just as I was about to bend over to get one, I saw someone across the table. I recognized the hoodie immediately.

"So you decided to show up?" I answered Fitz's question without looking up, and moving my mouth as little as possible.

"Yep. We all did." I gave a subtle nod behind me, where I could still hear Alli and Clare chattering away. Poor Marcie. Stuck in the middle of everyone. "You decided to come to, I see. With all the temptation." I looked up finally, and gave a pointed glance towards the red plastic cup he held in his hand. Cause, you know, as that page on Facerange says (not that I have one, but Alli showed me hers), "It's not a party unless there's red plastic cups."

"It's Coke, you freak." I laughed and unscrewed my water bottle, taking a drink. "I better get back to Tyler and Owen. We'll talk later, okay?"

"Good luck separating yourself from Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dumber." I nodded my head in the vague direction behind him, where I could see Tyler and Owen dousing each other with beer. Fitz rolled his eyes, waggled his eyebrows, and walked off.

It took me a good half hour to realize it was a school night. I mean, really. I kind of understood why Clare was hesitant to go now. I knew I was probably going to pull a Connor and pass out in MI the next day. But I was actually having fun. Clare and I perched ourselves on a picnic bench near the fire, and Adam and Eli sat on either end. Marcie was off wondering around, talking to people, and last I saw her she had been chatting it up with KC and Drew (which was odd, because I'd never seen either without there respective others-I'd seen Alli, but where was Jenna?). We were laughing at something Eli'd said about Bianca's hair as she passed by, and I watched as she went up to Owen and sensually took a bottle of Vodka from him and took a small, short sip of it. She was trying to be all sexy. I rolled my eyes, and then heard Owen laugh.

"Looks like little Miss Hollywood doesn't approve of our drinking habits," he said in a drunken slur. "Like your little friend there doesn't pound drinks at clubs like there's no tomorrow." He gestured to Marcie, who was sitting at another table with KC, Drew and Alli, and I could practically feel the glare Clare was giving Owen from behind me.

"Excuse me?" I stood up, bracing myself on the table. "If you have something to say to me, talk about me, not my friends." I took a few steps closer to where he stood next to the fire. Fitz was looking at us, but he was mostly glaring at Owen. His look plainly said "shut the fuck up, dude," but Owen, being in the state he was, didn't really seem to be able to tell.

"I'm just sayin," Owen babbled. "You act like you're all high and mighty, and so above us, when your friends on the floor drunk off her ass in the tabloids. And you just stand there like little miss-

That. Was. It. This (not so) little fucker was pissing me off. Before he could finish, I ceremoniously took the bottle from Bianca's hand, stuck it in my mouth, and took five long, hard gulps of Vodka. It burned going down, but I hid the cough that rose in my throat as I leaned the bottle back down, took it out, and wiped my mouth, giving a satisfied smack before handing it back to Bianca and crossing my arms. I raised my eyebrows at Owen, who stood there with Bianca, their mouths slightly ajar, and tilted my head to the side.

"You were saying?" I heard Adam let out a little snort behind me, and before Bianca or Owen could say anything, I turned around. Clare looked slightly shocked, but Eli and Adam were both grinning in admiration. Marcie too, but she seemed almost as trashed as Owen and Tyler were. She was holding a red cup in her hand, and was pushing it towards KC, laughing. Some of it sloshed out onto the table and onto KC's hand, and they both started laughing. Oh yeah. She was trashed. I chanced a glance to my left to see Fitz smirking at me, shaking his head. I gave a satisfied smirk to myself as I leaned against the front of the table. "I think I'm gonna go take a walk," I said before I could stop myself. Clare stood up, giving me a worried look.

"I'll go with you." I waved her off.

"No, no, I'm fine." Truth be told, I was. Five gulps of vodka was, yeah, a real kicker, but it would take a while to kick in, and if I could get some food in my system within the next hour or so I'd be fine. I started to walk in the vague direction of where Fitz was, and passed him, giving him a look as I did so. I ignored everyone else as I tramped into the forrest, finally finding a bench a few hundred feet in, and plopping down on one side. Apparently Fitz understood the look I gave him, because I heard footsteps a few moments later and turned around to find him coming towards me. Without a word, he came around to the other side of the bench and sat down. He just stared at me. Flat out, not stopping; stared. "Can I help you with something?"

"That was…" He trailed off, seeming to try and find the right words. "That was…unexpected." He gave me a confused look, and I put my arms on the table, laying down my head.

"I can be a badass," I said thoughtfully, going to run my hand through my hair. It hit the crown I was still wearing, and I tore it off in one swift motion, and then ran my hand over my head. The effect was soothing; like something my mom used to do when I was little, and still worth her time. "I just choose not to be at school. I'd rather be hated by kids and loved by adults than the opposite. One day my peers will realize that I was doing things for the right reasons; but adults judge of first impressions."

"What was that from?" he asked, crossing his arms on the table and laying his head down so his eyes were level with mine. The way I was laying on the table, he looked kind of sideways. "Last years blockbuster hit?"

"No!" I reached out and pinched his nose, the closest thing to me. "I have my own thoughts sometimes, thanks." He laughed, and his hand moved to his nose.

"Really?" He shook his head, still laughing. "So, you buzzed yet?" I looked up at him, raising my eyebrows.

"Why? You want me to be?" He rolled his eyes. "Buzzed, no. Woozy, yes." Suddenly, I felt a chill go up my spine. It was starting to get colder out here. I don't know how I hadn't noticed it before. I was basically in a bikini.

"Oh," Fitz said, sitting up. "You're cold." I gave an awkward smile, and he started to unzip his hoodie, standing up. I followed his actions, standing up just as he came around and pulled his hoodie off, and then held it out to me. I turned around, and he held it up as I slid both of my arms though it. Once it was on, I turned back around, looking down, and pulled my hair out from under the collar. When I looked up, Fitz was staring at me again.

Only this time, it wasn't filled with mild curiosity. Not with annoyance or hatred or any of the things our friends thought we felt towards each other. This was something else.

"You look really cute in my clothes," he said with a smirk. I felt myself blush, and turned around, starting to walk around in an attempt to warm myself up.

"Thanks," I muttered. "I probably should have changed before I came."

"No!" I turned at his tone of voice. "I mean…uh…no. That costume…it looks…good on you." He blinked, as if not believing what he'd just said. I let out a little laugh.

"Uh, thanks." I looked down. "Except the extreme muffin top these shorts are giving me." I pat my tummy with my hand, which was half covered by the sleeve of Fitz's hoodie, and then looked back up. Fitz shook his head.

"You really look great, Hollie." I blushed again, and my hand moved up to brush a piece of my hair away from my face. But before I could, Fitz took a step forward and brushed the piece away from my face. There was that look again; the one I couldn't quite put my finger on.

"What are you thinking?" I'm usually not this blunt.

Okay, that was a lie. I'm always blunt. With guys though, I usually just wait for them to tell me what they're thinking. But I wanted to know, needed to know, what was going through Fitz's head. I needed to know if he had the same thought as me.

"Well," he started, giving me a little smile. "I'm thinking about how adorable you look in my jacket. But," he raised an eyebrow, "also how much better you looked without it." I rolled my eyes. He took another step closer. "I'm thinking about how surprised I was when you chugged half of that Smirnoff. And how crappy you must be feeling right now."

"Crappy is a good word." He took another step. I could feel his breath on my face, his heartbeat just barely on my chest.

"And I'm thinking about how much I want to kiss you right now." Good. So we were on the same page. My breath hitched in my throat, and I looked up at him, making eye contact. He came closer, and closer, and I was ready. Ohh boy, was I ready. My eyes fell closed slowly, and I waited for our lips to make contact. I felt a breathe on my ear, and then Fitz's spoke. "But I'm not going to." My eye shot open, and I leaned back.

"_What_?" Fitz smiled, and I scoffed.

"Hollie, I'm not going to kiss you. Not yet."

"_Yet_?" I crossed my arms. "Fitz, what's going-

"Listen," he cut me off, holding up a hand. "You made me wait, and I get that. You wanted to see if I could-would-change. And you know that I will now." He paused. "But I want to prove to you that I can do things out of my own free will too; that I can be a good person, patient, because I want to, not because you want me to." He smirked, and nodded his head. "Besides, I don't kiss on the first date." He let out a little laugh, and I felt my mouth go tight. What. The. Hell. I finally make my mood, and he goes all Jonas on me.

"I didn't know we were considering this a _date_." It came out as more of a sneer than I'd meant it to, and something else flashed in Fitz's eyes. Hurt, maybe?

"Well it's the closest we've come so far." He gestured back at the start of the trail, where I could faintly hear the sounds of the party going on. "I'd much rather be out here with you than out there with them."

"And yet you won't kiss me." I rolled my eyes and sat back down on the bench seat which I'd vacated moments before. Fitz sat down next to me and looked out at the trees on front of us. Before I knew what was happening, he leaned in and kissed my cheek. I fought the urge to giggle.

"Happy?" I turned to him, and he was grinning just as widely as I'm sure I was.

"A little." I looked down and nudged him.

"You're not getting anything more than that," he started. But then he grabbed my hand from my lap and held it between his own. My hand, which usually feels large and clunky to me, looked small and fragile compared to his own in the light of the lightposts on the trail. "Until you go on a date with me." I looked up, surprised. "A real date, none of this English homework and costume party stuff." The idea sounded so inviting, so alluring. But I knew it would never work.

"Fitz," I replied, rotating my body to face him. "I would love to. I really would. But going out on a date with you is just as dangerous, if not more, than going out with friends. Clare ended up on Perez just two days ago because we went to the freaking _movies_." I sighed, and squeezed his hand. "We already know how much everyone would hate us dating in the first place. I would probably loose Clare, Eli and Adam as friends if they found out we were even on speaking terms." I looked down, thinking. "But we can try something. Maybe an in-home date? My place or yours, I don't care. But we can cook dinner and get all dressed up or something; we just can't go out."

Of course, I had other reasoning's for not wanting to be in public with Fitz. Not only would my friends find out about us dating, but the paparazzi would be hounding Fitz as much as they were already bothering Clare. The day before, I'd gone to drop her off at her house to see a cameraman hiding in her bushes. I'd rolled my eyes and ignored them, but it was pretty freaking weird for her. The one other time I'd dated someone outside the business (a quick fling in between Logan and Keegan, one of the local boys when we were filming in Tennessee), had ended in disaster when the paps had snuck into his house to dig up dirt. He'd had enough; I couldn't blame him.

"That actually doesn't sound too bad," Fitz said, giving my hand a squeeze back. "Friday?" I nodded.

"Friday." We grinned at each other in the most ridiculous way, and sat there in a comfortable silence for a few minutes, before my phone buzzed in my waistband, and my ringtone started going off. I jumped. "Wowww. Perfect timing." I rolled my eyes and pulled it out. It was a text. From Alli.

_Hey. Have you seen KC? Jenna's looking for him and we haven't seen him anywhere._

I raised my eyebrows at the screen. The last time I'd seen KC was when he was sitting at the picnic bench with Drew and…

Oh _god_.

"Shit," I muttered, standing up. Before Fitz could ask where I was going, I speed-walked (thank God I was wearing flats and not heels) back to the party. The first person I ran into was Jenna.

"Oh! Hey Hollie!" She looked kind of stressed, and disheveled, like she'd been busy working all day or something. "Have you seen KC anywhere? I've been looking for him for like, twenty minutes." She gave me a small smile, and I shook my head. Time to put my acting skills to use.

"I saw him with Drew a while back, over by the drinks and everything. But I haven't seen him since. Maybe check over there?" I pointed in some vague direction, and she gave me another smile before heading off. My mind was racing. Last I'd seen them, they'd both been really smashed. And Marcie smashed does stupid things. Hell, Marcie sober does stupid things. I raced over too Clare once I spotted her, where she sat chatting with Adam. "Clare, have you seen Marcie?" She looked up, surprised.

"Uhm, no. I haven't actually." She looked confused. "Not since you disappeared, actually. I just assumed she was with you."

"Well she wasn't." I glanced around, hoping to spot either one of them. "And now KC's gone too." It seemed to take both Clare and Adam only a few seconds to realize what I was getting at.

"You don't think…" Adam started. I nodded. Their eyes both widened, and they stood up. "We better find them." We split off, Clare going with me, and we walked around the party, trying to act as casual as possible. Finally, we came back to where we started, and I gave Clare an exasperated look. This was getting ridiculous. I looked around one last time, and saw something I hadn't noticed before.

A van.

The most inconspicuous, dark colored van ever. But it had shit all over it. Words painted. One in particular I noticed on the back that said "If the van's a rockin, don't come a knockin." My eyes widened, and I nudged Clare. She looked to where I was staring at and I saw her eyes bug too. Before she could say anything, I ran over and pulled the side door of the van open. When I looked in, both Clare, who'd followed me, and I let out loud gasps. And the two people mid-make-out separated with a loud slurping sound to turn around and look at us. Marcie's eyes went wide, and she immediately pulled herself away from KC. The two were sprawled out on the floor of the van, which was littered with empty beer cans and a few bottles of liquor. KC didn't have a shirt on, and Marcie's dress was pushed up around her waist. I heard another gasp behind us, and turned to see Jenna standing there. Her eyes were as wide as the rest of us, and they were swimming with tears. But before anyone could say anything, she ran off in the same direction I'd come from in the forest. She passed a surprised looking Fitz on her way, and he gave me a confused glance just as I turned to look back at KC and Marcie. I was done being surprised; I shouldn't have been. Marcie pulled the strap of her dress up, and gave me a shy, guilty smile. I reached in and grabbed her arm, pulling her out, and then pointed to KC.

"You; I suggest you get the fuck out of here before I let Alli know she needs to call your mom." Yeah. Jenna had Alli program Ms. Guthrie's number into her phone incase of drunken emergencies; I think this qualified, but I was giving him a chance. KC bolted from the van, grabbing his shirt on the way. I turned around to Marcie, and my eyes narrowed. "KC, Marcie. Really? He has a girlfriend."

"I didn't know."

"What the hell were you thinking?" I half-whispered. "Oh, wait," I said, cutting her off just as she was about to answer. "You weren't thinking. Because you never think before you do anything."

"I'd rather not think than second guess myself," she slurred. My eyes widened again, and I crossed my arms. "You know what, Owen was right. You think you're so high and mighty, just because you don't do drugs or have sex. But really, Hollie. All you are is a big, fat prude who no one ever likes. The only reason Logan ever went out with you was because of the publicity." I rolled my eyes. I knew that wasn't true. "You think I'm kidding? Just call him. He'll tell you about all the times he snuck over to my place after going on those 'dates' with you." I couldn't believe what I was hearing; my best friend and my boyfriend. Together. While I was still dating him. "And by the way, Josh wasn't my first. Logan was. You remember that night after the VMA's? I said I couldn't hang out cause I was going to dinner with my family? Yeah. Thanks for getting him riled up for me." She gave me a bitchy smile, and I had to force myself not to reach out and slap her. This was ridiculous. She'd not only snuck around with my boyfriend, but they'd had sex too? I fought the urge to do her physical harm, and turned around, back to Clare.

"Take her back to the car," I said, throwing a disgusted glance at the girl behind me, who sat back down on the edge of the van doors. "I'll be back in a few." As I walked away, I heard the faint sounds of someone barfing. Ha. Serves her right.

I followed the trail back towards the bench where Fitz and I had sat earlier, and my phone went off. It was a text from the boy himself.

_Everything okay? I saw Jenna…and you looked pretty surprised._

_I'll tell you later._

I put my phone back in my waistband just as I came up to the bench. Jenna sat on the side closest to me. I couldn't see her face, but by the way her shoulders shook I could tell she was crying. I felt like an ass; no, I felt like more than an ass. It was my fault Marcie was here in the first place. Sure, it was true that she'd _kind of_ stolen KC from Clare, but no one deserves to be cheated on; not even someone who's done it before. "Jenna?" I walked up to where she sat and sat down next to her, putting an arm on her back. "I'm so sorry." She sniffled, and turned to look at me. Her face was puffy and red, but there was something off about her. Something I couldn't quite place my finger on.

"Why are you sorry?" she asked, wiping at her eyes. "You didn't make out with my ex three hours after he dumped me." My eyes widened for what felt like the millionth time that night, and I looked at her.

"He dumped you?" It came out as a squeak.

"Yep." She sniffled again. "Right after-

But before she could finish, she made a gagging gesture, and then bent over the side of the table and threw up. I was surprised, to say the least.

"Whoa," I started, my hand flying back to her shoulders. "Are you okay?" She threw up again. "Obviously not." I rubbed circles on her back, trying to help her, as she sat there, blowing chunks. It took a good five minutes, but when she was finally done, for sure, she sat up, wiping her mouth.

"Sorry about that," she said, resting her elbow on the table and putting her chin in her hand. "It's been happening a lot." I looked at her. I mean, really looked at her. Like I'd thought before, I noticed something about her again. Something was…off. She had this…glow about her. And her top…she wore that a few weeks ago and it'd looked fine. Why was it so snug now? And she'd been throwing up…holy crap.

"Jenna," I began, glancing at her. "You aren't, by any chance…pregnant, are you?" I half expected her to be really pissed and reverently deny any allegations that she and KC had even had sex, but she didn't. Instead she gave me a small nod and looked down at the table.

So. Jenna was pregnant. I was, and I'm sad to admit this, kind of surprised. I mean, I didn't really place Jenna for some sort of genius, but I'd thought she was a little smarter than to have unprotected sex with KC.

In the end, she called her brother to come pick her up, even though he'd only dropped her off half an hour before. I stayed with her and discussed the stuff she was going through for Next Teen Star, which I congratulated her on. I'd seen her youtube videos (some of the guys in MI were watching them). She was good.

Once she was home safe, I went back to the car. Clare was in the front seat this time, and Marcie sat between Adam and Eli, holding what looked like a plastic bag full of mud in her hands. I was confused, until, when I went to open the door, she threw up again into it. I rolled my eyes and got in the car, and started the drive home. Once we were back at the house, the guys helped Marcie in. I didn't want to look at her, let alone touch her. They got her into my room, and Clare and I helped her out of her costume. She was starting to feel better, but she was obviously hungover. I threw a pair of pajama pants and a cami on her and closed the door to the room after grabbing my own pajamas.

"I think a skip day is in order tomorrow," Adam said, looking at all of us once we were on the floor in the living room, our blankets set up as usual.

"Skip?" Clare squeaked.

"You've done it before, blue eyes," Eli said with an eye roll. I layed back on my pillow.

"A good nights sleep sounds good right now." I glanced at the clock; it read 1:46 AM. "How about we deal with tomorrow when we wake up?"

Marcie was gone when I woke up. Mom was upstairs, making breakfast when I went up there, and Eli was chatting with her. I was a little surprised; I'm usually the first person up. But they were chattering away like old friends. They seem to share a love of black coffee. When I asked Mom where Marcie was, she said she'd caught an early flight back to LA to start filming. She really had no idea what'd happened last night. I guess Marcie is a better actress than I though.

I still can't believe that she did that. Slept with Logan while I was going out with him. What a bitch.

All well. I have my friends here now. And there's always Sasha and Debby and Bridgit.

I think Clare and Adam are starting to wake up. Eli went back to his house a few minutes ago to go get clothes for him and Adam; I guess we are doing the skip day after all. Probably just going to hang around the house and have a lazy day.

But I just realized something.

I have a date with Fitz. In four days.

***ducks and covers***

**I KNOW. You all want to SHOOT ME. But please don't!**

**I'm already about to kill myself. Sophomore year is So. Flipping. Hard. Hollie has it easy; Canada's education seems like a cake walk compared to American. Really. We've had so much homework. But barely anything has happened this year, like, at all. The only thing even relatively interesting is that I ran into Brendan, the bassist from Disco Curtis, at my local Apple store a few weeks ago, and then I got accepted into IFB (independent fashion bloggers) for my blog (.com). **

**But things happened on Degrassi!**

**HOLY FLIPPING CRAP. I almost pissed my pants when Fitz had the knife. I swear. **

**Luckily, I have no plans of making Fitz that much of a dick in this story.**

**He's just…misunderstood.**

**So, what did you think? Love it? Hate it? What were your favorite parts of this story?**

**And also, for those of you who want to harangue me into updating sooner…here's my twitter- HollyClaireee**

**Much love! XOXO**


	8. November 2nd, 12:56 PM

_November 2, 2010_

_12:56 PM_

_Location-Lunch_

_Feeling: Tired._

So. I feel like shit.

Yesterday, we all faked sick. Adam, Clare and Eli told their parents something about eating bad cheeseburgers at some place in town (even though I take my burger with no cheese), and then my mom called in sick for me, so we were all off the hook. I was "housing" all us sick kids, and told their parents through a fake groggy voice I used on a movie when I was six that I'd drop them off when we were all feeling better. Of course, being me, they believed the pile of shit I was handing out.

After Eli came back with clothes for him and Adam and we'd all eaten and everything, Clare and I basically just lounged around in our PJ's until Eli and Adam literally pulled us up off the couch, where we'd been watching America's Next Top Model, gawking at the thinness of one girl after another. I'd wound up sleeping in Fitz's hoodie, a tank and a pair of boy shorts. Yeah. Clare gave me a cursory glance when I came out of the room, the zip front hanging off of me. I told her it was my brothers. And she believed me. I haven't even seen my brother in like, a year. He's a total party animal still living in LA.

"We're going out." That was all Eli said as he shoved us towards my room and ordered us to change into something "presentable." Yeah. He got a smack over the head for that one.

"Much better," Adam said when we came out. Clare was in a pair of my Miss Me jeans, which I have to say looked AMAZING on her, and a blue peasant top with a vest. I'd literally just thrown her random articles of clothing from my closet, but I have to admit, I did a damn good job. I was in a similar pair of jeans, with a white tee and brown cropped cardigan vest.

Eli practically dragged us back into my car, and instead of letting me drive, took the keys and ordered the two of us girls into the back seat. He wasn't usually this domineering, this…bossy. But I could tell by the way Clare's cheeks flushed pink whenever he glanced at her in the rearview, smiling and raising his eyebrows, that she liked it. We wound up at some lakeside, and parked the car right on the grass. I hadn't seen him do it, but Eli had packed a blanket and some bags of chips and everything into the backseat, which we set up right next to the shore. We sat there, talking, laughing, just, trying to be ourselves, for hours.

They listened to me rant and rave about Marcie; Adam held me while I bawled again. Clare talked about her parents and how she thinks the whole "trying to stay together" thing isn't really working. Adam complained about being stuck in Special gym, and how they were starting gymnastics this week. We laughed and wished him luck. But Eli, he was the only one with nothing to tell. Nothing to cry about or bitch over. He just stayed silent; listening, nodding, mm-hmm-ing occasionally.

There's something up with him. Something lurking in his head that he doesn't want to talk about. I know Clare's thinking about it too. She seems so confused by him. Adam, however, seems to know exactly what's up. He didn't bother to give him sideways glances yesterday, like Clare and I did.

We wound up back home just as the sun was setting. We told Mrs. Torres we'd been at the Dot, as Clare and I needed help studying for tomorrows chemistry test. We hadn't even cracked a book all day though; I was sure I was going to fail. Eli and I dropped Clare off on the way home too (he'd let me drive on the way back). She waved to us as she walked in, and said she'd return my clothes today. I told her to keep them.

"There's something up with you," I said thoughtfully as we drove the final blocks back to my house. I checked my mirrors, signaling that we were about to turn.

"How so?" I glanced over at him, and he sat like he had been the entire ride back. One arm on the open window, the other laying limp at his side, his fingers drumming idly to an un-hearable beat on his thigh.

"You don't share anything." He raised an eyebrow. "I mean, like today. Everyone had something to complain about. Even Adam. But you just sat there. You were so…quiet. You were thinking about something, I know that. But why didn't you tell us?" He didn't respond for a minute, just kept drumming away.

"There are things you guys don't know about me." He sounded so ominous; so empty. "Things that happened before. That I don't want you knowing. At least, not yet." He left it at that.

Once I was home, and Eli'd left, I texted Fitz to let him know I was back. I'd figured it wasn't a good idea to text him much today, just because I knew that if my phone went off and Clare or Eli tried to check it, they'd definitely find more than they bargained for.

_Hey. Back. Eli just left._

_Welcome back :) How was the lake?_

_Surprisingly fun. Got a lot out that I needed to talk about. How was staying at home?_

_Boring at shit. As per usual. What'd you tell Mama Torres? _

_That we were studying for chem at the dot. I'm going to fail tomorrow._

_Need help still? I've always been good at chemistry. ;)_

_Seriously?_

_Seriously. _

By this point, I'd already changed into a pair of track shorts and a black off-the-shoulder tee, put my hair up in a ponytail and was ready to crash. But for some reason, the idea of spending time with Fitz right then made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside; like it as the right thing to do. I told mom I'd be back in an hour or two, grabbed my bag and chem book, and walked down to Fitz's. He answered the door as dressed down as I was; in pajama pants and one of those tight tee shirts he always wears when I'm around. Sometimes I think he does that just to tease me.

"Well don't you look good," he said as I walked straight into the house. I elbowed him in the chest, and he flinched.

"Parentals home?" I threw my bag on the couch in the living room, and he followed.

"Make yourself right at home," he said with a laugh. I had the vaguest flashback to the first time we'd hung out in my kitchen. I rolled my eyes. "And no. Monday night is their 'date night.'" He made a face, and I smirked back at him.

"So we're…alone?" I wiggled my eyebrows, and he raised his at me, and then crossed his arms.

"Last time I checked, Friday was still four days away." I pouted. "Nope. Nuh uh. Don't do that to me." I shook my head, laughing, and then went to grab a water from the fridge. I knew where pretty much everything was in this house now; I still remembered, even though I hadn't been there in weeks. Before we sat down, I pulled his jacket out of my bag. I had one of his at home already , and figured having two was just plain creepy. We started working on chem almost immediately. We sat on the couch, books splayed out in front of us, him trying to explain nomenclature to me, and then quizzing me on elemental charges and symbols. Somewhere around eight, I was starting to get really sleepy. God knows why; I'd slept in so late yesterday morning. But somehow, I found myself lying on Fitz's chest. Don't ask me how. All I know is we sat there for a good half hour, listening to the music lulling out of the speakers on my phone, chatting about anything and everything. I picked at the ends of my hair, pulling it out of the ponytail that was giving me a headache.

"You're really going to make me wait till Friday?" I asked, as we got on the topic of what'd happened at Bianca's party with Jenna. I told him the watered down version of the story, which didn't include the part about her being preggo, and he listened, occasionally nodding. "Can't we just call this a date and get it over with?"

"Someone's more antsy to make out than I am! What happened to Miss Purity Ring?" He let out a laugh, gesturing to my hand, and I turned around, rolling my eyes. "And no, we can't. I want to be the gentleman you make me out to be; prove to you that I can be that guy you want me to be."

"Fitz, that's really sweet and all, but…" I paused.

"Don't act all pouty and depressed now," he said lightly, and I felt a hand in my hair. The action sent a shockwave through my body; a tingle that I hadn't felt since, well…a long time ago. I turned back around, and settled back into Fitz's chest. It was, as usual, warm and firm and comfortable.

"I wasn't being pouty," I said. "I just don't see why-

"You were being pouty. But," he started, and I felt his other hand come up to my neck and move my hair away from my shoulder. "I'm not saying it isn't cute." I smiled to myself, and was about to open my mouth to speak, when Fitz's face moved towards my shoulder, and he nuzzled into my neck, planting a small kiss where his lips fell.

"What're you…?"

"Payback," he said quietly. "For yesterday." I turned a little bit, trying to look at him. He wouldn't let me, so I basically grabbed his head and unlatched it from my shoulder, sitting up and turning around. "Do you have any idea how much I wanted you yesterday? In that costume?" I rolled my eyes. "Hollie, I'm being serious." I saw his face flush. "I was thinking about you all night." My mind went immediately to the gutter. I know, I know. I'm a pervert. But so is every single person in my grade. Even Clare, to some extent, with her vampire fiction. I felt myself blush, and had the urge to go against his wishes-against what he'd asked me to wait for. I wanted to, like I had that first day, grab him and pull him against me and never let go. But instead, I turned back around, laid back onto his chest, and moved my hand towards his that was resting on my side. I gave it a light squeeze, and then closed my eyes, quietly humming along to the Angel Taylor tune beginning to play.

We woke up to the sound of my phone. I guess both of us passed out cold, because the next thing I knew, it was 7:40 AM and something was vibrating on the couch. I groaned, and without opening my eyes, started to grope around what I thought was my bed momentarily. And then I remembered where I was. My eyes shot open, and I was face to face with an angelic looking Fitz. I was laying face down on top of him. I have no idea how I flipped over, but I managed to somehow. I scrambled to sit up, and groped around on the couch until I found my phone, looking at the screen. Four missed calls; two from Clare, one from Sasha and one from my mother. Good to know my mother cared _that _much about me. Fitz was still asleep, somehow. I didn't know what else to do, so I grabbed one of the pillows off of the couch and threw it at his face. He grabbed the pillow, held it to his stomach, and rolled over. Still asleep. My net move was one I probably wouldn't have done at any other time. But it seemed to be the only option.

I slapped him across the butt.

I know, I know. Ironic. But it woke him up! He sat up, startled, and looked at me for a long second. "Hollie?" He wiped at his eyes. "What are you…" He seemed to remember what'd happened the night before. "What time is it?"

"7:40 in the morning." I stood up, grabbing my keys off the table and taking a few steps back. "I've gotta go. We're gonna be late for school if we don't…" He tilted his head to the side, as if confused. "Oh. That's right. You're still suspended."

"Two more days." I glared at him as I turned towards the door.

"Hate you!" I grinned and turned back, just as I opened the door. "I'll text you later."

I literally did nothing to get ready. All I did was throw my stuff in my bag, grab my makeup and keys and head out. Like that.

So not only am I tired as crap, but I look it too.

_1:40 PM_

Adam is in our English class!

I am SOOO excited right now. Like, you have no idea how much.

He acted all sly about it at lunch, like he had no idea what was happening. But then he pretty much followed us to Dawes, acting like it was no big deal. When Clare and I sat down in our usual seats, Eli trailing behind us, Adam walked up to Ms. Dawes' desk. They exchanged a few words, and she smiled before pointing at the open desk behind me. Without a word, Adam walks past us and sinks into the seat with a satisfied smirk on his face.

"When were you planning on telling us?" I asked without turning around. Eli and Clare both swiveled in their seats to look at him, but I didn't bother.

"I wasn't." _Now _I turned.

"Why's that?"

"I wanted to see the looks on your faces." I reached out and pinched his arm. His eyes widened and he cradled his bicep.

"How about the look on _your _face." He rolled his eyes. "So you're like, officially in here now, huh?" He nodded.

"I got out of _special _gym." Claire's eyes widened, and Eli reached out for a high five.

"I do believe a _booyah_ is in order." Claire and I both gave them looks. Booyah? Really? That would be when the bell rang, and everyone around us sat down and shut up. Ms. Dawes stood up from her desk. And pointedly looked at us.

"Before I start on today's lesson," she started, walking around her desk and starting down our isle. "I would love to know, as I'm sure most of the class would also, where the four of you were yesterday." She stopped, and then turned to look at me. "Ms. Peterson?"

"Uh…" Great. That's just _great_, Hollie. I thought, trying to come up with something on the spot.

"We all had food poisoning, Ms. Dawes." Adam spoke with no hesitation in his voice; he didn't falter. Didn't stutter. "Hollie's mom didn't check the expiration date on some beef we had Sunday night. We were all up for hours." Ms. Dawes made a face, and turned to glance at Eli and Clare.

"Is this true?" They both gave rather convincing nods, and she turned around, walking back to the front. I silently held my hand under the desk for a high five from Adam. He gave me one back.

That was the first bought of humiliation for the day. The second came in seventh period, during Fashion Marketing and Merchandizing, the one class I shared with Fiona.

Our teacher, Ms. Andrews, while she was as lovely and sweet and can be, obviously doesn't understand the idea of public humiliation. Class started off fine; we did a bellringer journal in our cute little customized binders, answering questions about self marketing, and the limitations a young designer can have because of their age. And then Ms. Andrews started talking.

"Today, we're going to discuss one of my personal favorite young designers." She smiled around the room. "This young woman, while balancing her career in Hollywood and her time with her friends and family, managed to design a full fashion line for the spring shows this last year all in a few months." If it hadn't been for the young part, I would have guessed Madonna. "She has a juniors business line at Macy's, a handbag and accessory line at Nordstrom, and a complete line at Kholes in the US. And we're lucky enough to have her here in our class." I didn't have to look up to know that she was looking at me. And I felt the eyes of everyone else in my class. I glanced at Fiona before looking up, and she was looking like she was about to laugh. I gave her a small glare, and then turned to look at Ms. Andrews. She was smiling at me. "First, we're going to read an article that came out a few months ago on Refinery 29, and then I was hoping Ms. Peterson would talk to the class about her fall line." She looked so hopeful, I couldn't say no! We read this article a fashion newsletter site, Refinery 29, did on me right after Fashion Week, and then she made me stand up and give a speech about my line, and what my inspiration was for it.

I about died.

_November 4, 2010_

_5:52 PM_

_Location-Home_

_Feeling-Crazy!_

I HAVE NOTHING TO WEARRRRRRRR!

I kid you not. I have searched everywhere in my closet, and trust me, that thing is huge. I have found NOTHING to wear tomorrow.

According to Fitz, and what he said when he pretended we weren't talking near our lockers, I need to dress…Semi Formal.

WHAT THE FUCK IS SEMI FORMAL? I've been to formal events; you wear large ball gowns and the men wear black tuxes. And then there are the casual events, where you can show up in Miss Me's and a cute top from Nordstrom and be set (if you're a girl, of course). But Semi-formal? What the hell is that?

I called Fiona. And told her everything.

I know, I know. I shouldn't have told anyone what was going on. But I couldn't just randomly ask her what Semi-Formal meant and not explain why.

She laughed. She freaking laughed when I told her.

But she said it was sweet. The whole waiting thing. She did, however, make fun of the fact that we couldn't tell anyone what was going on. She sounded a bit blitzed too. I'm starting to get a little worried.

So semi formal is somewhere between ball gown and casual. She described it as "Sunday Best." Considering the only times I've been to church in the last 15 years is the last few weeks when I've gone with Clare, and they were Wednesdays so jeans were appropriate, I still have no idea what to wear.

_8:34_

I FOUND IT!

Yeah, it. The outfit I'm gonna wear tomorrow. I think I've talked about it before, too. It's this _gorgeous _sapphire blue Armani Exchange dress I got at their spring show last year, and the only time I wore it was a week after the show at one of their pre-promo parties.

I can't believe it. It's tomorrow.

*insert freaking out here*

_November 5, 2010_

_1:20 PM_

_Location-Lunch_

_Feeling-calm_

I have no idea what I was freaking out. I was reading over some older posts from the last couple of days, and Jesus. I sound like some hormone riddled teenager.

Well. I am a hormone riddled teenager. But still.

I mean, it's just a date. Just dinner with a guy.

A guy that is not only willing to make changes to his life because of something I said but, and I've never been so sure of this, might just be exactly what I've been looking for.

Okay. Now I sound like a High School Musical freak.

_11:39 PM_

So.

I don't even know how to begin to describe to tonight.

Fiona helped me get ready. Clare wanted to hang with me and Alli tonight, as asked during first period. So I fed her a lie about Fiona coming over and us working on a project for Fashion Merch. Which, wasn't ALL a lie. She did come over. And we did discuss our upcoming project for Ms. Andrews class. But I felt kind of bad, lying to Clare. Kind of.

By 6:30, I was ready. Shaking, but ready. And then my phone buzzed on my dresser.

_Hey. Bring something comfy to change into after din._

_Why? And thanks for telling me earlier._

_Just do it. _

_Okay, Nike Man._

Before I could get the _LOL _text I knew was coming, I checked myself in the mirror, slid my phone, a pair of track shorts and a tee shirt in my bag, along with other assorted junk, thanked Fi one last time, and bid her adue with the two cheek kiss I'm so used to now, heading out the house and onto the sidewalk. The whole thirty seconds it took me to walk to his house, I was trying to calm my nerves. I have no idea why I was still freaking out. Maybe because I've never really wanted anything as much as I wanted this to work.

It's irrational. It doesn't make sense. The supposed good girl and the baddest boy around.

But hey. Obviously sometimes it works. Cause the UST surrounding Eli and Clare is bound to break any day.

His mom answered the door. He'd told me they'd be gone all night; that Ben's work was having some dinner at the Plaza downtown, and that they were renting a room for the night since it was running so late. But she pulled the door open and then her hands flew to her ear, where it looked like she was fastening her earring. "Oh!" she said, surprised. "Hollie, Dear. I didn't think you were coming until later." I glanced at what she was wearing-a light pink, flowy dress-and smiled.

"I'm a little early." I wasn't. She was late. But it's not like I was going to tell her that. "You look great, Ms. Fitzgerald." She made a gesture to come in and grinned at me.

"You look great too, dear. And please," she gave me a chastising look. "Call me Andrea." First name basis with the parentals is always a good thing. As I came into the house, the man from the picture on the fridge, Ben, came down the hallway, carting a suitcase behind him.

"Oh!" He stopped in his tracks, much like Ms. Fitzgerald. I mean, Andrea. "You must be Hollie." He extended his hand. "I'm Ben, Mark's step father. We've heard so much about you."

"Likewise," I said, shaking his hand. "Looks like you two are in a mad dash, so I won't keep you."

"We should be off." Andrea glanced at Ben, and then back at me. "Mark is in the kitchen setting a few things up. When he told me you two were planning on cooking together, I just couldn't let you do all the work. Lord knows my son got his fathers cooking skills." She rolled her eyes. "I left some prepared parts of the recipe on the counter, and then there's a molten cake in the fridge ready to heat." With a final wave and a call to Fitz to say goodbye, she and Ben were out the door. I stood for a second, kind of shocked. I hadn't really expected to see her or meet Ben, nor was I expecting her to cook part of our meal for us. But none the less, it was already done. There wasn't much more I could do. So I walked towards the kitchen, where, from where I was standing, I could see Fitz in the little dining area. My eyes widened, and I think my jaw went a little slack.

It looked like a restaurant. No joke. He had the dining room table, previously set with an adorable Kate Spade fall china set the week before, set up with a black table cloth and stark white plates, the thick kind like you get in the good Italian places that need hearty dishes to hold their meals. Two tall candles sat on the table, unlit but still adding an atmosphere of romance to the entire set up. There was a bouquet of short stemmed roses sitting in a small vase in the middle. I thought I was going to die.

When I walked into the room, Fitz was standing with his back towards me, leaning over to light the candles. I set my bag on the counter and I guess he heard, because he turned around looking startled. "Hollie! You're here!" I slid a piece of my hair, curled, as usual, out of my face and smiled.

"Yep. I'm here." I glanced around, going over everything again. "Fitz, this all looks…amazing." He grinned, like a child given a gold star. "I can't believe you did all this."

"Well it's not done yet." He went back over and lit the candles, and I finally got a look at what he was wearing.

I swear, I grinned so hard I thought my face was going to split. He was wearing almost the exact outfit from the picture. Khaki slacks, dressy ish shoes, and then a blue button up. The only difference was he'd thrown a black blazer over the entire thing.

"You look good," I said, leaning against the fridge and crossing my arms. He turned around, and smiled, walking back to where I was and putting the lighter down on the counter. He held his hand out, and I raised my eyebrow. What'd he want me to do? Kiss it? But then, he reached out and grabbed my own hand, holding it up and twirling me away from the fridge.

"You look better." I pulled him into a hug. We stood for a minute, just hugging. He smelled like he usually did; a mix of Axe shampoo and Burberry Britt, which was slowly becoming one of my favorite scents. I pulled away, and caught his eye before glancing at the table behind him again. He turned to look at it too, and then back at me. "Let's start dinner." We walked away, back to the fridge, and pulled out a few Zipaloc bags. "We have to toss a few things together, but dinner should be ready in no time. And then all we have to do for desert is…" He trails off, and then pulls a sticky note off the fridge. "Pop the brown pan in for fifteen minutes on 400 to get hot. Smiley Face." He let out a laugh. "Leave it to my mom to put a smiley face."

"Hey!" I said, grabbing the bags of sausage and peppers out of his hands. "I like your mom." I opened the bag of peppers. "She told me to call her _Andrea_." I said the last word with a falsetto accent, hoping to catch his attention with it. And it did. His eyes widened a little bit.

"There's a first."

"What?" I turned to him, raising an eyebrow.

"Nothing." He pulled a pan out of the cupboard and then grabbed a little vial of oil, pouring some in the skillet. I took it from him and poured a little more. He rolled his eyes. "She just doesn't usually do that. Let people call her by her first name, I mean. I don't think _Bianca _even knows her first name, and I've known that girl since grade 9." Again, the idea of Bianca and Fitz made my stomach churn. So I just poured the peppers into the skillet as Fitz grabbed me a wooden spoon. Things were going well.

Dinner was made in a matter of ten or fifteen minutes, cooking the pasta and tossing it together with some tomato sauce, sausage and peppers. After putting the desert in the oven, we sat down, two Cokes with us, and ate. The conversation didn't stop; he complained about how much make up work he had from his suspension. I complained about how much work I had in general. He explained that Sophomore year is one of the hardest; the amount of work is a lot in comparison to Junior and Freshman year. I couldn't have agreed more.

The more we talked, the more I found myself giggling; the more I found myself reaching over the few feet and grasping his hand on the table. The more I did this, it seemed, the closer we scooted towards each other.

"He _what_?" I almost spit out the Coke I'd taken a drink of a few seconds before. He was telling me about Tyler, on Disco Day Freshman year during homecoming week.

"He just pulled 'em off. Right in the middle of the entry way."

"Was he wearing anything underneath them?" Fitz shook his head, hiding a smile.

"Nope. Just his jock strap from practice." I cringe. Not really a mental picture I needed; Tyler ripping off Velcro lined pants on the front stairs. "I know. Disturbing."

"I'll say." I took the last bite of my pasta, and pushed my plate away. "I say, Mr. Fitzgerald, we make a pretty good team when it comes to cooking." I gestured down to the plate.

"I must agree, Ms. Peterson." He smiled, and pulled my hand into his on the table. We had one of those moments, looking into each others eyes. Until I took a breath through my nose, and smelt something funny.

"Do you…smell that?" I took another, deeper breath. He did the same. His eyes widened, and he stood up, almost knocking his plate off the table in the process. As I stood after him, I turned to look at the oven. Smoke was beginning to pour out of the top vents. Without hesitating, Fitz yanked the door open. I, on the other hand, knew this was a mistake. Because I knew what would happen. And it did.

Smoke rolled out of the box like clouds, and Fitz coughed, taking steps back towards me. "You okay?" I asked. He coughed again and waved his hands in front of his face, nodding. I put my hand on his back, about to speak, when a screeching sound interrupted me. We both looked up, where the sound was coming from. The fire alarm was going off.

Just. Fucking. Perfect.

"_Shit_." He ran around the island in the kitchen, to the other wide of the fridge where, from the space between the fridge and the wall, he produced a broom. He stood right under the fire alarm, and jabbed at it until the cover looked like it was going to fall off. I just watched, my heart still racing. "Shit shit-

"Shit?" I raised my eyebrows, my hand going to my chest as he set the broom loudly against the counter and turned around, yanking a drawer open and producing two pot holders. He went towards the oven and pulled what looked like a giant log of brittle, melted glass out, throwing it on the counter, ripping off the holders and then slamming his hands down on the marble. "Fitz…it's okay."

"No, it's not." He pokes at what was supposed to be our dessert, and then threw me a look. "This is a mess. A disaster." I put my hand on top of his on the counter, trying to calm him down a little bit.

"It's not. Really, Fitz. It's fine." I give him a smile. "It's just gonna smell for a while." He didn't smile back. I looked around, trying to find a solution. Then, I remembered that his mom kept that stash of scented candles under the cabinet. So I grabbed the first decent sounding one off the small shelf, pulled the lighter from the drawer and set it up, all the while Fitz watching me with a grimace on his face.

"How do you remember where everything is?"

"I just do. See it once, I'll remember it for a while." I glanced at what was our desert on the counter, and then back at him. "What was the plan after desert?" I sat down on one of the bar stools near us and he did the same, looking down at his hands in his lap.

"Well, I was actually planning on seducing you over desert and getting you up to my room, but that's obviously not going to happen." I let out a strangled laugh, shocked. The little smirk on his face gave away that he was kidding, but it was still a pretty blatent statement. "Kidding." He smiled, and it made my heart melt. He'd been in such a bad mood, it was good to see he didn't think the entire night was ruined. "I was really just hoping to watch a movie or play a board game or something." I perk up at the last bit of his sentence, sitting up in my seat.

"A board game actually sounds really fun." He gave me a look.

"That was just a suggestion…we don't have to."

"I want to!" I laughed. "I brought comfy clothes for a reason, right?" He nodded. "Well then, let's do it!" I backtracked when he smirked, something along the lines of an Eli face. "I mean…I meant…oh you know what I mean."

"You wanna play upstairs or down here?" I look around, taking a deep breath through my nose. It still smelt vaguely of smoke, and it was kind of annoying.

"Media room?" He nodded.

"But first…." Fitz walked towards the fridge, pulling the bottom drawer, which was the freezer, open, and picking up two ice cream pints out of it. I raised an eyebrow at him, and he closed the door, holding one out to me. I took it carefully, holding it by the lid and looking at the label. "Brownie Cheesecake," he said, opening the drawer next to him and pulling out two spoons, handing me one. "I know it's your favorite." I started to say "How…." but he cut me off. "Research. Plus, you might have mentioned it when we were working on 'chem homework'." He gives me a smile and gestures towards the back exit, and as I follow him, watching him blow out the candles and stick the dishes in the sink, I smile to myself. He actually listened to me babble. To everything (or at least, most) of what I said. This idea alone made my heart flutter.

We set the ice cream down in the media room, and he said to change in the bathroom-that he'd be out in a minute with a board game.

"Keep the button up on, will ya?" I smiled and stood in the doorway before I left. "It suits you." He raised an eyebrow and shook his head, but smiled and then followed me most of the way to the bathroom. I watched him go into the room next door, and then closed the bathroom door, breathing out. I felt my heart give a little blip-I think both Fitz and I were waiting for the other person to make a move; to be the first to offer up some bit of themselves. I sat down for a second, trying to cyphen my thoughts. Breathe in. Breathe out. Nothing can go wrong tonight. Well, nothing _else_ can. I changed into my track shorts and tee shirt, and pulled my hair up into that infamous messy bun; the one with little curls hanging down here and there. Sultry, but still a little bit conservative.

As I threw everything back in my bag, I noticed the last thing I'd put in it before I left-a balled up piece of fabric that I'd been wearing off and on since it'd first come into my possession. Fitz's jacket. I smiled, pulled my bag on my shoulder, and then grabbed the jacket, leaving the room. Fitz wasn't in the hall, so I assumed he was in the media room. I didn't want to seem like a creeper, still having his jacket, so I walked to his room to drop it off. When I opened the door, however, Fitz was standing in there. He faced away, and was pulling a pair of black running shorts on. I could very clearly see a pair of blue striped boxers. "Oh, my god." I said it before I could stop myself, and turned back around, not leaving. "I'm so sorry." I heard the rushing of fabric, and then an "Oh God," then the thud of Fitz falling to the ground. I turned back around, and he was lying on the floor, his pants half way on. I threw my crap down and walked over to him; he scrambled to sit up and pull his pants on. His face was burning red, and I let out a little laugh. "You okay?" He pushed himself up off the floor, jumping up and pulling his pants up the last couple of inches.

"I'm good." He shook out, like trying to psych himself up. "I'm good." He turned to face me, and looked at what I'd put behind me on the floor. "Is that…my jacket?" I glanced back at it, blushing, and then looked back at him.

"Aha. Yeah. You kinda left it at my house that first day."

"And you still have it?" I twisted my hands and looked down, shifting on my feet.

"It was comfy. And warm." I looked back up, and his mouth was twisting into a smile. I avoided his eyes and glanced around the room, realizing for the first time where exactly I was. I was in _his room. _His sacred space; his sanctuary. He'd been in my room once, and that was to grab my bag when I was too lazy to get off the couch in the next room. But here I was, just standing in the middle of his room. There were a few articles of clothes randomly strewn on the floor, and a bowl of what looked like Fruit Loops on the bedside table. There were posters on the wall; I spotted one for Dead Hands; one for Shirock, this little band he told me he'd come across on MySpace (really? Who still uses _MySpace_?); and one for… "Is that _me_?" I took a step towards the poster, and squinted. "Holy crap, it is." He coughed and stepped in front of me.

"Uh, yeah. About that." I gave it another look. It was definitely me. A giant, blown up picture of me; it was a promo poster from a movie I did last year with Dakota, one of those special ones they do for specific characters. We played fraternal twin sisters who, while trying to prove that they're different from each other, find out that they have magical powers handed down from their grand mother. This one was of me, large to the point of almost being life sized, smiling at the camera holding a wand while Dakota stood off in the distance, clutching books to her chest much like Clare had the first day I'd met her. "I've had that for a while…" I didn't want to say anything. I really didn't. But it just kind of…bubbled out.

"You've got a picture of me in your room?"

"It's not a picture!" he argued. "It's a poster for a movie you happened to be in." I rolled my eyes, but on the inside, I was jumping up and down like a small child just given a pixie stick. He had a picture of me in his room. He had a picture of me _in his room_. He saw that picture every day, and didn't think it was ridiculously bad looking like I had when I first saw it. "You wanna just?" He gestured to the door, and then took a step forward. I nodded, and followed him out of the room, after taking one final glance around. It did kind of look like the typical boys room; there were stacks of CD's everywhere, and a metal framed double bed thrown against a wall, haphazardly made. But I could definitely tell his mom had been at work in there. The comforter was something straight out of a Pottery Barn catalog, and the stack of lockers on the side of the room (somewhat ironic, given Fitz's hatred for our own school) were regularly featured in PB teen.

We ended up playing Monopoly. I know, I know. The most boring game EVER. But it wasn't really. Because first off, it wasn't the original version. It was CHOCOLATE themed. So I was extremely happy to have my brownie ice cream to curb my cravings. Secondly, we made it pretty damn fun. Instead of our figurines going to jail, we were joking about locking each other up and what it would take to let us out. I know, it sounds incredibly stupid and corny, but it was probably some of the most fun I've had since the first time Clare, Eli and Adam spent the night.

"You've created the recipe for the best chocolate souflee in the world-collect $4,000 and proceed to next available property." Fitz read of the card in a new anchor voice, and I rolled my eyes.

"Best souflee in the world, eh?" Fitz's eyes went wide at my words, and he covered his mouth. "What?"

"You just said _eh_." My own eyes widened, and I mimicked his actions.

"No, I didn't."

"Yes, you did!" He pointed to me, and let out a laugh. "You've been here a less than a month, and you're already becoming naturalized!" My hands moved to cover the rest of my face, and I leaned back against the couch of the media room.

"Nooo." I shook my head, closing my eyes. I can _not_ be getting an accent. There's no way! How can I ever go back to LA if I have an accent? I'll be mercilessly mocked! "I can't believe it!" When I glance over at Fitz, he's laughing. He's freakin _laughing_. "What the fuck is so funny?" He keeps laughing, and looks up at me, covering his face with his hands. And then, he snorts. No, seriously. He _snorts_. Like a pig. This, of course, sends me into my own fit of giggles. Fitz just _snorted_. I think my life was made in that moment.

And then, suddenly he stops. Just mid laugh, stops. And, confused, I stopped too. He smiled, that cute, sinister smile that makes me melt, and leaned forward, tucking that annoying curl behind my ear.

"I think it sounds cute," he said, his hand trailing down the side of my face, down my neck and onto my shoulder. I let out a shudder. "Just like you." And as quickly as he had earlier in the week, he brought his face towards my skin. This time, face to face, we kissed. _Finally_. I felt myself smile into it as his hand gripped my shoulder harder, and my own hand went to the back of his neck, a gesture I know most guys faint at.

I'm an actress. I have _coaches_ for this kind of stuff.

He pulls back just as quickly as he went in for it, and I'm pretty sure my grin matched his as his forehead rested against mine and he looked me straight in the eyes.

"How was that for a first kiss?" he asked with a smirk. I smirked back, my fingers on the back of his neck gripping harder.

"_Perfect_." He glanced down at my lips, and then, closing his eyes, he kissed me again. This time, it was more….passionate. Rough.

Not that I'm complaining or anything.

His hand slipped off my shoulder and found my waist, pulling me a little bit closer to him, and the kiss deepened, our mouths opening, tongues intertwined. His mouth tasted sweet, like the caramel in his ice cream. I silently prayed that the chocolate in mine was covering up my garlic breath from dinner, as I was too stupid to bring gum. And then, without warning, he pulled away, and then pulled me back to him, turning me around and crushing his chest to my back, his arms wrapped around my waist. He pressed his lips to my collarbone, like the other night, and I felt him smile against my skin. It was a ridiculously sweet sentiment that I don't think could have gotten any better.

For a few good hours, we cuddled on the couch and watched old episodes of True Blood, occasionally sneaking kisses above the blanket covering both of us. We were in the middle of a particularly passionate one when my text tone went off two time consecutively. We pulled apart, both of us rolling our eyes.

"This better be good," Fitz said with a laugh. I pulled my phone out of my waistband under the blanket, and unlocked it. The first text was from Zane, who I'd finally met after being partnered with him for a French assignment.

_LGBT Community Roundtable Presents: Homophobia in our Hallways. Next Wednesday, 8PM at Degrassi. Bring friends!_ I rolled my eyes again, and went to check the other message. It was from my mother.

_Time to come home_. She must have woken up and seen that I wasn't home yet.

"I gotta go," I said with a sigh. Fitz groaned.

"Seriously?"

"Seriously." I stood up, stretching, and I felt a breath of hot air on my semi-exposed stomach. Fitz plastered his face against my belly button, his arms wrapping around my butt.

"Don't go." I let out a laugh.

"I have to." I struggled out of his grasp, and then leaned down and pecked him on the lips. "I'll call you tomorrow." As I leaned down to grab my back, he pulled me in for one last passionate kiss. I let go laughing, and pulled my purse on my shoulder, slipping on my Sperry's and heading out.

When I got home, Mom was waiting up for me for the first time since I was about 12.

"So," she started, leaning against the table. "How was it?"

"_Perfect_." I went down to my room, the effects of the week finally hitting me, a tidlewave of exhaustion from lack of sleep. Before I dozed off, I got one last text message.

_Good night, Beautiful :)_

_November 7, 2010_

_2:36 AM_

_Location: My room_

_Feeling: Confused?_

Okay. So yesterday, things went okay. I called Fitz at around eleven, and we wound up ordering some food from The Dot, which he went and picked up, and we watched the Cupcake Wars marathon on Food Network (I know….we're dorks). Then at like, six, Clare called me and asked if I wanted to meet her, Eli and Adam at the Dot for food. I was still full, but agreed to meet up with them, even if all I got was a drink. When I got in, Eli and Clare were sitting in a booth in the back of the room, in what seemed to be a deep conversation. I walked up, and it took them a minute to notice that I was there. "Oh, Hollie!" Clare said, her eyes going wide. "Hey! Sit down!" She scooted over in her bench, and I sat next to her, unwrapping my scarf from my neck. It was unusually cold, even for Toronto.

"We were just finishing up these poems for Dawes," Eli said, gesturing down to the papers in front of him. I picked one up and read it over.

"It sounds like lyrics."

"That's what I said!" Clare half laughed, shaking her head. "But it's good. Eli's way better at poems than I am." She smiled at him from across the table, and he smiled back. They seemed to be in their own little world. I felt awkward.

"So," I started, snapping them both out of it. "Where's Adam?"

"Right here!" I turned to see Adam walking through the door, pulling his beanie off his head. "Jesus. It's cold out there."

"I know, right?" I laughed as Eli scooted over, leaving room for Adam to sit down. Everyone else ended up ordering food, but I just got a Diet Coke, claiming I'd made lunch with my mom. As soon as we were finished talking, Adam and I left, me going to my place, him going to his. As far as I knew, Clare and Eli had stayed longer.

Hours later, my phone rang. I was with Fitz, ironically, playing a game of Scene It Harry Potter edition, when my ringtone blared through the room.

_All eyes on me when I walk in; no question that this girls a_

I picked it up, and looked at the caller ID. It was Eli. Eli was calling me at 1:45 in the morning. I unlocked it, and pulled out my sleepy voice, giving Fitz a sign to stay quiet.

"Hello?" I asked in a groggy voice. I was expecting Eli to respond, but it wasn't him that spoke.

"Hollie? Hey, it's Adam."

"Adam?" I stood up off the couch, immediately worried.

"Yeah, hey. I hate to call so late, and I'm sorry if I woke you up, but I'm kind of in a little bit of a…situation."

"What's wrong?"

"It's Eli. He-

"Is he hurt?" I interrupted, my eyes going wide.

"Oh, no, God no." There was a pause. "At least, not physically. But something's up. He called me a few hours ago and asked me to go with him to this party at the ravine. He…well he wound up drinking like half a bottle of whiskey. And now he can't really drive. I was wondering if-

"It's no problem, Adam," I interrupted again. "I'll be there in ten." I hung up the phone, shoving it into the pocket of my jeans, and stood up, pulling my purse off the floor. "Eli's drunk, and Adam needs a ride back home." I looked at Fitz. "Was there another party at the ravine tonight?"

"There's always a party at the ravine?" he said with a laugh. I rolled my eyes, leaning down for a kiss. "You coming back after?" he asked, pecking me on the lips. I ruffled his hair.

"Probably not," I started. "If I'm picking up Eli drunk, I probably shouldn't take them back to his house. They'll probably have to come crash on my couch." I walked out of the door of the media room for the second time in 24 hours saying "I'll call you tomorrow!"

When I pulled up at the ravine, the party was dwindling. The only people I could see by the fire were Eli, Adam, Bianca and then some randoms. Bianca, to my surprise, helped Adam get Eli to the car.

"He's pretty out of it," she said with an eye roll as he fell back into the backseat of my car. "Was talking about car wrecks and a bunch of other random shit before you got here." I looked at Adam, who shrugged as he got into the front seat. Without a word to Bianca, I pulled out, heading back towards my house.

"What's wrong with him?" I asked, turning into my neighborhood. Adam looked down at the floor of my car, glaring at the mat as if it had offended him.

"I can't really tell you," he said quietly. "It's not my place to tell."

"Is it something serious?" I watched as he nodded. "How serious?"

"I can't _tell you_," he repeated. "When the time is right, he'll tell you. You and Clare both. But for right now, I think he's trying to burry his demons." We got him into the house somehow, and he stumbled all the way to the couch in the den downstairs. "I'll sleep on the floor," Adam said, heading towards the kitchenette to grab the linens.

"You sure?" I asked, heading towards my room. "You can totally sleep in my bed with me." Adam turned around, his eyes wide. "Oh, come on. I know you won't try anything." He laughed, shrugging.

"Okay…I guess?" He followed me to my room, where, without really saying much, we both got into bed. I feel weird now. Like Eli's keeping something really big from us.

_November 8, 2010_

_4:45 PM_

_Location: Football practice_

_Feeling: really freaking weird._

I'm at football practice.

No, really. Football.

All because of stupid freaking Ms. Dawes.

It all started in English class, as everything does as of late. Ms. Dawes came back at us, handing each of us our poems we'd turned in online last night.

"Great work on your poems, everyone. I got some lovely ballads." I looked back at everyone.

"A-, really?" Clare said to her paper. Eli turned around, laughing.

"Should have taken my notes."

"And risk having my poetry sound like rejected Alexis on Fire lyrics? No thank you." Adam and I looked at each other, simultaneously rolling our eyes at their flirting.

"Ouch! You hit me where I live!" Clare gave him a snarky smile.

"Lets all calm down, shall we?" Adam asked in a pleading tone. I could see his skin turning green; the flirting was too much to handle having not eaten lunch.

"Okay, gentle people!" Ms. Dawes started, coming back down the isle. "For our next assignment, we will be filming modernized scenes from Shakespeare. I want you to break up into groups of three," at these words, Clare gave me a stressed look, and I told her to wait a minute, "and then send a liaison to the front to pick up your film packet." She gave us all a smile, and then looked at me. "Ms. Peterson, can I see you up front really quick?" I raised my eyebrows, but stood up, giving everyone a look and following her to the front. "This should just take a second, Hollie. I just need a favor from you."

"Okay?" Ms. Dawes sat behind her desk, and looked up at me.

"My on level Grade 11 English class is doing this same project and I have a group of young boys-whom you probably know-in that class who're struggling. One of them I'm quite sure is smarter than he lets on. He could probably be in this class if he tried. But he likes to stick with his friends." She rolled her eyes. "Would you mind working with them instead of your usual group?" She glanced behind me. "I know you feel more comfortable with them, but I'm asking you because you're familiar with at least one of these plays, and I think your acting skills alone might be able to raise their combined grades to at least a B."

"A B?" I asked, surprised.

"I'll give _you_ an automatic A on the assignment just for helping out. And you'd get to skip your fifth period for the next week." As wonderful as missing a week of History sounded, I wanted to know something.

"Who exactly are these boys?" I asked, crossing my arms.

"Tyler Mayfield, Owen Milligan and Mark Fitzgerald."

I let Clare, Adam and Eli work together, and accepted the A in exchange for working with the guys. When I came back to sit down empty handed, everyone asked what was going on. I gave them the jist, and all of them, it's safe to say, were mad. But as Clare stood up to go get their film packet, Eli stood too, and said "Don't worry about it; I got this one," with intent eye contact with Clare and a smirk that made even _me_ stare. When Eli went up to get it, Claire leaned close.

"Okay, can we talk about the elephant in the room here?" Adam and I both sighed. "He wants to, I want to. But we just need to take the next step. It's slowly driving me insane."

"That makes three of us," I said with an eyeroll.

"It's like we're playing romantic Russian roulette and we keep shooting blanks. It needs to become real." I laughed at Clare's winey facial expressions. I'd never seen her like this; even when she came over last night and bitched about how she and Eli had held hands on the car ride back from The Dot on Saturday, but he acted like nothing happened after.

"Make a move already," Adam said quietly.

"It's not that simple!" Clare cried. I let out a frustrated breath. "It's like we need the right setting." Just then, Eli walked up, and showed us the play they'd be acting out.

"Guys, check it out. We get to act out Romeo and Juliet. How cool is that?" Clare, Adam and I looked at each other, and I grinned.

"Which scene?" He pulled the book out of their bag, along with a paper, which he read.

"You will be reenacting the famous death scene between Romeo and Juliet. Take whatever liberties you'd like with the actions, just make sure that the idea of the scene stays the same. Star crossed lovers and all."

I went to lunch with everyone like normal, and bitched about her asking me to work with Owen, Tyler and Fitz.

"I can't believe she partnered you with those assholes," Adam said, shoving half a sandwich into his mouth at once. My eyes widened, and I laughed.

"Hungry much?" He swallowed. "And I could give a shit less, honestly. It's a free A, and I get to miss Coach Harden's slide shows for a week."

"Oh, come on," Clare said, setting down her fork. "Who am I supposed to sit with then?"

"You survived Freshman year with Connor and Dave," I said with a smile. "I think you can survive a week of sitting with them alone." She gave me a playfull glare and went back to her pasta.

When fifth period rolled around, I avoided going back to the room. But when I did, Ms. Dawes was already seated behind her desk. She smiled and waved at me, and I did the same, sitting the far back of the room. As the warning bell sounded, people started flooding into the room one by one. Finally, I saw a dark brown hoodie I recognized. When Fitz saw me sitting in the back of the room, he looked kind of surprised. He sat down, gave me a look, and then pulled out his phone. Seconds later, mine buzzed in my pocket, and I checked it.

_What're you doing in here?_

_You'll see :)_

I left it at that, and just as the final bell rang, Owen and Tyler both came running in, plopping down in the two seats behind Fitz. Ms. Dawes handed out their assignments, much like she had in my class, and then she introduced the project. Immediately I saw Fitz, Owen and Tyler look at each other and nod, and I fought the urge to roll my eyes. Before sitting down at her desk, Ms. Dawes went up to the three boys sitting in front of me. I watched as she explained to them what was happening, and then as soon as she walked away, all three of them turned to look at me. Owen and Tyler looked annoyed. Fitz looked ecstatic. I pulled my stuff up from under the desk and moved up a few seats, sitting down across from Fitz.

"I guess we should…" Owen gestured to the desks, and then stood up, pulling his towards Tyler's. Fitz and I turned ours around and put them against theirs, and I caught his eye when I sat down.

"Why exactly are you with us again?" Tyler asked, crossing his arms.

"Do you have a problem with it?" I crossed mine back.

"She can help us, man," Fitz said, glaring at Tyler.

"Yeah, but I don't get why it has to be _her_. She's just going to boss us around."

"_Listen_," I said, leaning forward against my desk. "I don't want to be in this group any more than you do. But Ms. Dawes asked me to as a favor, and I owe her one. So I said yes." I leaned back. "Put it this way. At least you three will get a passing grade with me in the group." I glanced around at the three of them, and Owen nodded as if to say "I guess you're right." "Now who's going to get our Film Packet?"

"I will." Fitz stood up and went to get the bag; the three of us stayed in silence until he got back. When he did, his eyes were wide. "Here." He set the bag noisily down on the desk, and I pulled the copy of _Romeo and Juliet _out of the bag.

"Clare, Eli and Adam our doing this one too."

"She said no two groups are doing the same scene." Fitz glanced at me as I pulled the paper out of the bag and read it out loud.

"Your group will be acting out Act 3: Scene 5, which is when Romeo is leaving Juliet's room after their wedding night. Start at the beginning of the scene and end when Juliet's mother comes in. This scene can be fun to act out-but be sure to include the essentials-emotion, passion, and most importantly, the farewell kiss."

I think the horror struck looks on mine and Fitz's faces spoke for themselves.

**Hey everyone! Long time no see!**

**How'd you like it? All 10, 400 words? :)**

**I hope you liked Hollie and Fitz's first kiss as much as I did. I thought it was adorable :) It was (kind of) like my first kiss last year, only, well, the boy was a lot hotter in this story. Aha.**

**I'm trying to get things to the dance at the end of The Boiling Point. That's about two chapters away at this point-one of the Clare/Eli drama mixed in with the Fitz/Hollie/Tyler/Owen debacle that was just introduced, along with some Fiona thrown in there, and then the next one will be of the dance and what follows. I'm warning you all now-after the dance, things are going to start getting a little bit different from the show. I'm going to try to stick to the storylines as much as possible, like I have in the past, but because of the way I'm writing the dance, it's going to be different. **

**But I'm sure y'all will like it XD**

**XOXO**


	9. November 8th, 6:50 PM

_November 8, 2010_

_6:50 PM_

_Location: The Dot_

_Feeling: cheery_

After discussing our scene, I was (of course) voted to play Juliet. On the inside, I was still kind of freaking out. I still am.

Kissing on screen is no big deal to me. I've been doing it for two years.

But my choice on who to kiss lay between Owen and Tyler, both of whom disgust me, and then Fitz, who, by kissing, I might wind up revealing the fact that we're actually "together." Or…whatever we are.

But of course, when I got to football practice, sat in the bleachers and waited for Tyler and Owen to get out, who should come sit by me but the latter male himself.

"What're you doing?" I asked out of the side of my mouth, moving over a few inches.

"We're project partners," he replied, filling the gap I made. "We have a reason to talk now."

"Fitz, it's my funeral if anyone finds out about us. Not yours. Now unless _you_ want to etch the gravestone of my friendships with Eli, Clare and Adam, I suggest you go along with what I'm about to do." He gave me a look, but before he could ask what I was going to do, I stood up, giving him a dirty look, and moved ten feet over and up three rows on the bleachers. I watched Coach Armstrong pull everyone in on the field, and Fitz pull out his phone. Moments later I got a text.

_Smooth :)_

_Like ice._

Just as I put my phone away, Coach dismissed everyone, and before we knew it the entire field was empty. Everyone was trailing in behind Owen and Tyler, who rushed to the locker rooms faster than anyone else. I stood up, ready to go wait at the bottom of the bleachers, and as I went down, Fitz caught me in the isle, smirking.

"Alone at last." He went to kiss me, but I rolled my eyes and pushed him away.

"Not _here_." He rolled his eyes right back.

"Bossy, bossy." We both went down to the bottom of the bleachers. "I still don't get why you're so picky about all this."

"Why _I'm so picky_?" I raised my eyebrows at him as we sat down. "Fitz, do you realize what would happen if anyone at our school found out about us?" I gave him a stressed look. "Not only would I loose my best friends, but you would lose your privacy. Clare already has paparazzi stalking out her house every other day. And Alli, Eli and Adam are getting there." I shook my head. "All I have to do is mention someone on Twitter, and they're an instant mini-celeb." He rolled his eyes.

"But you're not mentioning me on Twitter."

"That doesn't _matter_," I said, my hand cradling my forehead. "If someone, even someone outside of school, were to spot us together…" I looked up, and glanced around outside. I should have been more careful. I scanned the perimeter of the football field, making sure no one was watching from a distance. They weren't allowed on school property, but city sidewalks aren't school property. "Especially the paparazzi, everyone would know within hours. Fitz, I can't…" I looked down at my hands in my lap. "I can't put you through that. You have no idea how bad it gets. It's hard enough going around with my friends out here." Fitz opened his mouth to speak again, but was interrupted.

"You girls ready to get our project on?" We both turned to see Tyler and Owen coming towards us, Owen carrying a large laundry bag. "Hey, Peterson, it's laundry day-wanna do mine for me? You are a girl." He held the bag up, and gave Tyler a high five. I rolled my eyes and ignored the comment.

"I'm not staying here to work on it. I'm meeting Fiona at seven, so we've got two hours to get this shit done with. You guys just wanna follow me to The Dot?"

"Whatever you say, your highness." Tyler made a bowing gesture, and I just started walking towards the parking lot. "It was a joke. Jesus. Why don't you get that stick out of your ass?" I wheeled around, facing him.

"Maybe because being in this group wasn't exactly my own choice? I did this as a favor to Ms. Dawes, and I can quit just as easily as I accepted. I don't _have _to put up with your BS, so why don't you _cut it out_?" All three of their stunned faces put an extremely satisfied smile on my face.

They followed me to The Dot in Fitz's car. When I got inside, I grabbed a booth in the far back corner, and sat on the side where no one could see me. They found me (eventually) inside and sat down (Fitz next to me), and we started discussing ideas.

"Have any of you actually read this play?" I pulled it out of my bag and set it, along with the slip and camera, on the table. Fitz was the only one to nod. Of course. "Great. Okay. Have you seen the movie?"

"That old nineties version with the dude from Titanic," Owen said, and pulled Peter over to order food. Tyler nodded.

"Same here." I'd never really hung out with Tyler up close-I haven't had a reason to. But under those smug expressions and asshole comments, he was actually kind of cute. Super dark skin, with these weirdly colored blue-green eyes that were a huge contrast to his color.

"Well, it's a start." I rolled my eyes and told Peter I just wanted a Diet Coke and some fries-Fitz and Tyler got the same thing. "This scene…it's basically usual awkward post-sex morning. Only, they're married." I sat my head on my hand, my arm resting on the table, and looked down at the slip tucked inside the book. "It's such an odd scene to choose, though. I wonder why she gave us this one."

"Well think about the idea of the scene," Fitz started, pulling the slip out. "You're 15, maybe 16, and it's the morning after your wedding day. You've just had sex for the first time, and now you're worried about being able to even see your husband ever again." He paused, ignoring the semi-awestruck looks on the faces of the boys across from us. "It's the emotion in this scene-the feelings of desperation, of angst that Shakespeare was trying to convey that teenagers still experience today-that I think Ms. Dawes wants us to give her." I blinked, momentarily shocked at his openness around his friends.

"Dude," Tyler said. "That was deep." Fitz shrugged.

"No biggie." He turned to me. "So how're we gonna do this? And who's gonna play Romeo and the Nurse?" I shrugged back.

"Well, which one of you is a better actor?" Fitz gave me a sarcastic look that I'm sure the other two didn't really understand, but Tyler stretched, giving me a grin.

"Well, I don't know if you know this, but I had a starring role in the musical last year." Owen punched him in the side.

"You did not." He rolled his eyes. "He was one of the football players." Owen leaned back like Tyler had, looking at us. "You know what, I think Fitz should be Romeo. You two look damn cute together." I felt my eyes widen, and saw Fitz give me a look out of the corner of my eyes. But I recovered quickly, rolling my eyes as Peter came back with our drinks.

"Peter," I started, and he looked startled to know I knew his name. "We're doing this project for school-a video on Romeo and Juliet. I'm playing Juliet…which one of them do you think should play Romeo?" He gave me a look that plainly said he thought I was crazy, but looked amongst the guys at the table.

"A video?" I nodded. "Well…" He gestured to Fitz next to me. "Honestly the two of you look the best together."

"Ha!" Owen reached his hands up over the table in a "what now?" gesture, and I gave Peter the tiniest glare as he walked away. "Told you so!"

"Well, I guess it's official then," Fitz said, looping an arm around my shoulder. "We're Romeo and Juliet." I feigned disgust, and threw his arm off, but under the table, his hand rested on my knee for most of the time we spent planning and eating.

Fiona showed up just as the guys were leaving, and gave them an odd look as she saw me and sat down. "What was that all about? I thought you two couldn't be seen in public together."

"Ms. Dawes asked me to work with them on a project." I rolled my eyes for what felt like the umpteenth time that day, and offered her the remainder of my fries. She picked one up and chewed on it.

"How's that going?" I gave her a look somewhere between high and annoyed, and she laughed. "Not well, I take it. What play are you doing?"

"Romeo and Juliet." Her face split into a grin.

"And who exactly is Romeo in this equation?" I gave her the same look, and she laughed again, shaking her head. "That must be awkward."

"Believe me, you have no idea."

_9:45 PM_

"How the fuck do you expect them _not _to find out?" I asked Fitz, an angry, loud tone seeping into my voice. We were in my lounge downstairs after I got back from hanging out with Fiona; he sat on the couch, and I was standing, my arms flailing about as I spoke (well, yelled).

"Doe. It's going to be _fine_," he said with a laugh, and tried to get me to come sit back down with him. I shook my head and took a step back, crossing my arms. I was going to be stubborn, no matter how many times he used that nickname.

"No, Fitz, it's not. I did this as a favor to Ms. Dawes because I owed her one for not counting that essay I missed last week, but now I'm starting to regret agreeing to it."

"You're regretting agreeing to be in a group with me?"

"Not with you specifically," I said, rolling my eyes. "But if anything, and I mean anything gets out-hell, if this video we're making for class finds it's way online-I could be in serious shit." I took a deep, long breath. "I just don't want anything messing this up. Messing _us_ up." I glanced at him. "Whatever we are." He made a face, and then reached his hand out to pull me down to him. I let him, wavering at the look on his face, and he wrapped his arms around me, pulling me to him. I laid my head on his chest, and he kissed the top of my head.

"_We_ are just what it looks like we are. Two people who like each other trying to get to know each other, without other people's opinions or input getting in the way. And I'm okay with that for now, as long as you are." I smiled to myself. For some reason, I was actually _glad _he wasn't pushing to put a label on it. Normally, I would have been antsy with anticipation waiting for the guy to make it official. But it seemed like with Fitz, I didn't care. As long as I was with him, things were okay; it didn't matter what we called it. "When are we going to film then?" he asked, changing the subject. "I asked the guys, but neither of them had any idea. I think any time after practice is good…and the sooner we can get this done with, the better."

"Well," I started, "the only day I can't is Wednesday." He gave me a curious look. "I have church with Clare from 5:30 to 6:30, and then at 8 there's that LGBT thing at Degrassi."

"You're actually _going _to that?" He made a face, and I made one right back, sitting up.

"Why shouldn't I? My friends are the ones hosting it. You could do well to go to it too." He looked hurt, and I immediately regretted what I'd said. "Well, your friends more than you. But still. Maybe you should understand why all those jokes hurt people like Zane and-" I cut my sentence short. I almost said Zane and Riley. But there were only a select number of people who knew about Riley being gay, and apparently very few of those people were guys; Fitz was not one of them. "…and the rest of the LGBT club." I looked at him. "Just consider it." He changed the subject again.

"Well I have something tomorrow, so I think we may have to film Thursday, and then we can edit it to get done by Friday."

"What do you have tomorrow?" I was curious. But for the first time since I'd met him, Fitz was hesitant to tell me something. "What?" I prodded, grinning and poking him in the arm. "What's so bad that you can't tell me?" He twisted his mouth from side to side, a habit I guess he was picking up from me, and then looked up.

"You're not going to like it." I narrowed my eyes.

"You're not selling drugs or anything, are you?" His eyes widened, and he blinked, obviously surprised.

"Holy hell, no." He let out a laugh, and put an arm back around me, pulling me close again. "I would never do that. I've done them, yeah, but I would never sell." He shakes his head. "You get more jail time for that." I let out a surprised sound and smack him on the chest. "Kidding!" He laughed and kissed my head again. "But I still don't think you'll like it."

"Just spit it out already."

"Tyler and I run the school Fight Club." I sat up again, even more surprised than before.

"You guys _what_?"

"And this is why I didn't want to tell you."

"No, no," I said, blinking. "It's fine…it's just…shit. Aha." I let out an awkward laugh and shook my head. "I didn't know schools actually had that kinda stuff." He gave me a conniving smile, and leaned in.

"They don't." I raised my eyebrows. "First rule of fight club-

"There is no fight club," I continued with another head shake. "Jesus. Okay, well, Tuesday and Wednesday are out. I guess Thursday's our only option. You wanna text the guys and tell them?" He nodded and pulled out his phone, and I laid back on him and pulled mine out of my pocket, sending a quick _How's the filming?_ to Clare, who was filming her bit with Eli and Adam in the park near her house, just a few short blocks away.

She texted me back not even fifteen minutes later as I was walking Fitz to the door.

_You have got to come see this_. That's what her message said. It was ten at night, and she wanted me to come see something.

_Now?_

_It's worth the two minute drive. Trust me._

With a small growl, I kissed Fitz goodbye and then ran downstairs, grabbing my keys and a jacket. It was starting to get way colder-to the point where my shorts were being replaced by sweats, and my Juicy hoodies were finding their way back to the front of my wardrobe again. Not that I'd ever wear them to school. When I got to Clare's, her parents were bickering in the front room. Her mother stopped short when she saw me.

"Oh, hello, Hollie. I didn't know you were coming over!"

"Clare just needed something for her project from me. I'll be in and out before you know it!" Clare appeared at the top of the stairs, and for some reason, she looked different; glowing, even. She gestured for me to come up, and I followed quickly. Her computer was open in her room, and there was a video read on it.

"Sit." She pointed to the chair, and I gave a fake army salute and made a face, sitting and facing her.

"Ma'am, yes ma'am." She rolled her eyes and then turned the rolling chair around to face the computer. Without another word, she clicked play. It was their scene from the play. I watched, silently, giggling along the way. It was rough and uncut, but still followable.

"Romeo! You drank the poisonous high fructose cola beverage, no!"

"Way to be generic, C."

"Just watch!" I turned back just in time to see Clare and Eli inching together on the screen, and then….

"Holy shit," I said quietly.

"Hollie!" Clare gave a surprised laugh, and I watched as the two of them kissed on screen, an expression of what I'm sure was a mixture of shock and horror on my face. I mean, _finally_, but at the same time-ew. My best friends. Making out. On screen. Again, ew. I was silent the rest of the clip, and when it was over, the screen went black. Clare wheeled my chair around. "Well?"

"Well…" I trailed off, twisting my mouth from side to side. "How was it?" I gave a small shrug of my shoulders, and Clare let out an extremely high pitched squeal, scaring the bejesus out of me. She rambled on and on about how passionate and sweet it was. There was a part of me, somewhere in the back of my mind, that was jealous of Clare. She could kiss Eli on screen, and have everyone watch it, and it would make a few moments chatter at school and then be over. There was another part of me that started silently freaking out. Watching her video made me realize that the entire class would be watching these, as she reminded me as she rambled on, and once the entire class saw Fitz and I kissing on screen, who knows what people would say.

_November 11, 2010_

_4:45 PM_

_Location: Queen Street_

_Feeling: Confused_

I am going to murder Anya.

No, seriously. Cold blooded, completely premeditated murder.

She signed me up for the bachelor auction.

As the only bachelorette on the ticket.

It all started after English this afternoon. Eli started acting weird today, and wouldn't talk to Clare like he usually did. He was being distant and unfriendly; I'd only seen him that way a few times. I was leaving to go grab lunch with Clare and Adam, plastering posters for the LGBT meeting tonight on the wall at Zane's request, when Anya pulled me aside.

"Hey, can I talk to you for a few minutes?" I told Clare and Adam I'd meet them at my car, and walked down the hall with her.

"What's up?"

"I need a huge favor." Those words made me stop in my tracks. "It's nothing bad, I swear!" I raised my eyebrows, crossing my arms. "You know we have the bachelor auction next week, right?" I nodded, still confused. "Well, Chantay and I were wondering…"

"Do you want me to bid on someone?" I asked, laughing. "Because I totally will. Zane's doing it, right?" She smiled.

"Yeah, he is. But, actually, we were wondering if you'd sign up for it."

"Sign up?"

"Yeah, like…be a bachelor. Well, a bachelorette." I felt my eyes widen slightly and I gave her a look.

"Are you serious?"

"I'm sorry, it's just...We haven't had that many people sign up, and if you did it, I'm sure we'd double the amount of bidders, even if some of them are male." I twisted my mouth from side to side, taking it into consideration. Letting random males bid on me until time was out; God knows who I'd end up with. But Anya is my friend, and I think she needed all the help she could get.

"Fine. I'll do it." Just as Anya was about to jump and give me a hug, Riley walked up.

"Anya, we've got a problem!" He grabbed her arm and started pulling her away.

"I'm sure whatever it is, Hollie can help too!" She pulled me right along with her, and he hastily explained that he'd agreed to go to the LGBT mixer tonight, but had nothing to wear. I let out a little laugh; it killed me that he was freaking out about what to wear. The guy looked like a Greek God. I don't think there would have been any objections to whatever he wore (actually, I think everyone would have been okay with him wearing _nothing_). "I wish I could help, hun, but I've gotta finish getting the cheer for the game on Friday ready with Chantay after school!" They both looked at me expectantly, and I took a deep breath, my eyes narrowing.

"I have church tonight! And then I'm going to the mixer!"

"We'll go right after school, then," Riley said, grabbing my arm. "Please, Hollie! I need a girl's help. I suck when it comes to fashion." I gave Anya a look over Riley's shoulder.

"You owe me so much for the auction." And with that, I walked away to meet Adam and Clare by the car. As of now I'm sitting with Riley at some café on Queen Street grabbing dinner before I head to meet Clare at Youth. He wound up getting two new shirts, and he's going to ask his mom (yeah, his mom) which one she likes the best before he goes tonight.

_10:40 PM_

Things went amazing tonight! Youth went great-I sang at worship for the first time. Not up on stage or anything, just with Clare in the back, and super quietly. But I get the feeling I'm going to be up on stage in no time.

As soon as that was over, I rushed home and threw on something a little more casual-as to not outshine Riley and his new clothes. I swung by and picked him up (he chose a blue and white striped shirt, and I thanked God his mother had some fashion sense), and when we got to the seminar, Zane was already seated, a couple people to the right of him. At my prodding, Riley went and sat down next to Zane. I waited a few minutes while they talked, sending a quick text to Sasha, and then quietly sat down next to him. Zane smiled at me from behind Riley.

"Anyone else coming I should know about?"

"I don't think so." I highly doubted any of my friends were coming. Sure, it was the LGB_T_ club, but Adam had declined the invite I handed him, saying there was no way his mother would let him go. Clare had to deal with a dinner with the parents, and Eli…well he was Eli. He wasn't one for organized events. Fiona and Declan had some thing back in NY to Skype with their lawyer about, and everyone else, including Fitz, was busy doing something. So when the lecture started, I sat as the presenter asked about gay jokes, and who all had received them. Even I had to raise my hand, and I'm not even gay. People made jokes about me being a lesbian all the time, after I got caught on film kissing Marcie after one drunken night in town. And after the amount of gay friends I have, to say I hadn't heard a jab or two would be an understatement.

"What're we raising our hands about?" I looked to my left as someone slid into the seat next to me, and grinned as I saw the person sitting there.

"I thought you had Principles of Tech homework," I whispered to Fitz. A girl behind me shushed me, and I gave her a dirty look.

"I finished it early; Mom got an email about this, and she heard us talking about it on the phone yesterday."

"So you're here because your _mother _made you?" He gave me a look.

"I'm here because I want to be."

"Anyone wanna start?" the presenter said, and I was momentarily silenced in confusion. Zane raised his hand, and the man pointed to him and told him to go. Zane stood, clearing his throat. "Hi, I'm Zane. I'm on the football team here, and sometimes guys make gay jokes in the locker room. Some of them directed at me, others not. I know they're joking, but it makes me feel…different."

"Like you're not part of the team," the man interjected.

"Exactly." Zane looked back at Riley, a pointed expression on his face. "Usually I just let it go, but there's a guy on the team that's in the closet, and he joins in on the teasing, and for some reason, you know, that hurts…the most." He sat back down, glancing around the room, and I felt myself glancing at Riley out of the corner of my eyes.

"Internalized homophobia, it's what happens when a person becomes convinced by friends or family or society they're disgusting or wrong. These people often hate themselves, and consequently, they take it out on people who are like them."

"I'm a homophobe," Riley muttered under his breath. I looked back at him to see his eyes glossing over with wetness. My own teared up immediately, and I reached my hand out to hold his in his lap.

"Would anyone else like to go?" The guy looked around, and I glanced back between Riley and Fitz and Zane. If Zane could get up and talk, I sure as hell could. I'd done speeches on national-no, international-television. I could do this. But when I stood up, my legs shook.

"Hi, everyone, I'm Holly." There were a few plainly obvious stares from around the room, and I smiled, glancing back at Zane. "One of my best friends is an FTM-he couldn't be here tonight, so I'm speaking here for him. One of my other best friends is tight with the same guys on the team-the ones Zane was talking about-that make all the gay remarks. These same guys outed my other friend to half of the school." I glanced back at Fitz. "My friend-the one that's friends with the other guys-avoids making jokes like the black plague when he can, but when he's around them, he turns into someone different. What I don't understand is why a lot of people-straight guys especially-see something wrong in being a transgender. It brings up another point-why people have problems with their own gender. Males don't tend to have problems with lesbians, but when they find out a guy is gay it's like he has a disease or something. Same with girls-no more sleepovers just because one of your friends likes another girl in your grade?" I let out a laugh, shaking my head. "Sorry, I know I'm rambling. But I just…I don't see why so many people freak out over this stuff." I sat down, and Riley, Zane and Fitz all looked at me, all three smiling. Fitz's was more sad than the other two, and he grabbed my hand, holding it in his lap. I saw Zane glance at it, and then at me, raising his eyebrows. I rolled my eyes, and gave him a look back, which he returned with a knowing smile.

Neither of them mentioned anything about Fitz and I holding hangs until the four of us made it to the Dot, grabbing a booth in the back.

"So how long has this been going on?" Zane asked. Riley, who'd just taken a bite of his burger, looked up, saying "what?" and I made a face as I saw small bits of chewed up beef and lettuce in his mouth. Zane gave him a cursory glance and then looked back at us. Fitz had his hand on my knee, and he squeezed it, shrugging when I looked at him.

"Not long," I answered to Zane, and then leaned over the table towards him. "But not many people know." Zane nodded, and Riley looked even more confused.

"What're we talking about here?" I laughed, shaking my head, and then wordlessly, Fitz took my hand in his and held them up. "Oh….so you two are like, together now?" We looked at each other, and I smiled at him.

"We're not really labeling it yet," I said. "Just taking it one step at a time." Zane ate a fry, nodding.

"Sounds like a plan to me."

Fitz and I made it back to the house by ten, and we were coming up with a script for the scene, sitting at the bar in my room. The couch was starting to hurt my back, but the TV was still on, really low in the background.

"I have no idea what I'm going to wear," I said with a sigh, taking a sip of my Diet Coke. Fitz, who sat beside me, shrugged.

"I'm pretty sure no one working on the project would object to a bikini." I smacked him on the arm, turning back to the TV in time to see a pair of teenagers making out on screen. My mind flashed back to two nights before, when I'd been watching Eli and Clare doing the very same thing. "Remind me again what we're watching?" he asked, looking at me.

"Skins."

"And it is?"

"Only the second most amazing English TV show after Doctor Who."

"There sure is a lot of making out," he said, laughing. I raised my eyebrows.

"Since when have you objected to making out?" He smiled and stood up slowly, walking over to me and pulling my face towards his. It didn't take long for his tongue to run along my lips, asking to deepen the kiss. I smiled, and we were pretty much in full on makeout mode when there was a bubbling sound from my computer. Confused, I pulled away, and Fitz shook his head, coming behind me and wrapping his arms around my shoulders. "What the hell was that?" I looked at my screen to see a popup that said "BembethBaby is video calling you." I looked back at Fitz. "Someone's Skyping me," I said, confused. "Like, no one has this name. Maybe ten, fifteen people. I don't recognize…." Then, it hit me. Bembeth. bEMBETH. I clicked accept, and a screen popped up. The first thing I heard was the sound of laughing; two girls, it seemed.

"The bitch finally answers!" a voice said. And then the video cleared up. It was Sasha. And Dakota. Both were in sweats, and Sasha had her hair pulled up in a ponytail.

"_I'm_ the bitch?" I laughed, shaking my head. "Who the hell came up with BembethBaby? I mean, really?"

"Hey," Sasha said, "it's not my fault my parents suck at picking middle names. They could have gone with something like Sarah or Michelle, but they _had _to pick Embeth." She rolled her eyes. "Long time no talk! Do you ever check your texts?"

"Or are you too busy making out with lover boy?" My eyes widened at Dakota's words, and I screamed at the screen.

"Kota!" I laughed, and adjusted the screen up a bit so they could see who was standing behind me.

"Ohhh. He's even cuter on video, Hol." Sasha got closer to the camera. "Hey there! I'm Sasha."

"I'm Dakota!" I rolled my eyes, and looked back at Fitz.

"These are my retarded friends."

"Retarded _best _friends," Sasha corrected, and they both fell into fits of giggles.

"I'm Fitz," he said with an awkward wave, and then he put his hand on my shoulder. "I'm gonna go grab some ice from upstairs. I'll be back, kay?" I nodded, and he leaned down and pecked me on the lips before leaving. The two girls in camera made squealing sounds.

"Holy crap, Hollie." Sasha shook her head. "You two are so cute together."

"You are the fourth person to say that in the last week," I said with an eye roll. "I appreciate it, though."

"How's everything going with that, then?" Dakota asked. "From the looks of that little peck, good?"

"Great," I sighed, leaning against the table. "He's awesome, guys."

"Aw!" Sasha squealed. "Our little Hollie's growing up."

"Who the hell are you calling little? Last time I checked you were old enough to still be in middle school." She flipped me off.

"Moving on." Dakota pulled Sasha's hand out of frame and looked at me. "Guess who we saw yesterday out in the Palasades?" I shrugged.

"Who?"

"Marcie." My eyes widened, and I got closer to the screen. "She looked like shit too."

"That's horrible," I said, but I couldn't help but to laugh. I hadn't talked to Marcie-no texts, emails, calls-since she left. I think she knew as well as I do that that friendship has long since sailed.

"She really did though," Sasha clarified, crossing her arms. "She had her hair up in a bun and these big old sunglasses on. When she saw us she took them off-she had these huge purple circles- and acted like nothing was up-I think she legit believes you never told us what happened on Halloween." I rolled my eyes. "Too bad she got the new Three Musketeers with Logan."

"_She's _Renee?" Both of them nodded, and I let out a horrified laugh. I read the script shortly before leaving town, and while it was decent, it was definitely not good enough to cover what I'd come to be aware of was Marcie's mediocre acting skills. Having been her best friend for so long, I was semi-blinded before of the fact that Marcie wasn't _actually _that good of an actress. Last week, I'd sat down to Algebra II and _Avalon High_, in which Marcie played Jen, and I almost gagged. "Well we all know what movie's going to bomb at the box office now." They both laughed along with me.

"Speaking of bombs-have you been online recently?" I raised my eyebrows at Dakota's question.

"Online?"

"Like, Perez, Oceanfail, anything," Sasha corrected. I shook my head. "The PCA noms went out yesterday!" My eyes widened. I'd completely forgotten about the upcoming awards nomination season-and how_ fast_ it was coming up.

"Who all got 'em?" The two looked at each other.

"They were considering _Long Lost_, H, they were-

"I could care less whether that piece of shit I participated in got a nom or not, S." I laughed at their faces. _Long Lost_, the indie film I'd done last spring as I was wrapping up my fall line, ended up turning ut really shitty. The editing, the music; it pretty much ruined the entire thing. "Just tell me who else got them."

"Selena and Justin B were both in best artist," Dakota started, and I rolled my eyes. Those two have been friends since summer, but after the news of her recent break up with Nick (I'd gotten word from Marcie when she visited, on top of texts from Debbie and Sasha), we all kind of figured there might be something more than friendship going on. "Taylor was in Fave Country and Fave Female artist, Hellcats got one too in TV something or other."

"Demi got two-Best Guest Star and best TV movie."

"Go Dems!" I said with a little hand pump. I heard Fitz coming back down the stairs, and he came and sat back down next to me, pouring the remainder of Coke in his can into the glass he'd set on the table. I was legitimately happy for Demi-we weren't _best _friends, but we were pretty tight-at all those Disney events, you've gotta hang out with _someone_, and Demi, Selena, Debbie and I all avoided Miley like the black plague.

"Yeah…have you talked to her in the last week or so?" I shook my head at Sasha's inquiry.

"No, but I just assumed it was 'cause of tour." They looked at each other again. "Why?"

"Her manager put out a release yesterday…she's been in rehab since after Halloween." My eyes widened again, and for a moment, I couldn't talk.

"Is she back on pot?" I finally spluttered out. "Or cutting?" Fitz grabbed my hand, giving me a questioning look, and I blinked at the screen as Dakota talked.

"No! Nothing like that. Selena texted us after the release went out-she just needs to get her emotional shit straightened out." I looked down at my lap, where my hands sat balled around Fitz's, and my eyes welled up. "But there's something else to it…" I looked back up. "Selena heard from Nick this morning that one of the reasons she went is because she punched a dancer in the face." My eyes went wider than before.

"She _punched _a dancer?" They both nodded. "I've never known Demi to be violent. Only when she's-

"Drunk," Sasha finished. "We know. I guess they're having more fun on tour than we thought." I let out a gurgle of a laugh, and Fitz squeezed my hand.

"Yeah, those virgins sure know how to party." Fitz let out a snort at my words, and I looked back up at the screen. "Listen, guys, I better get back to work-but don't be strangers. Keep video chatting-this was fun." We all said our goodbyes, and as soon as they were off screen I felt the first tear fall down my face. Without a word, Fitz lead me to the couch and pulled me to him, and he held me while I cried. I was starting to realize that however much I wanted them to, there was no separating my old life and my new one; my one here in Toronto and my one in LA were going to come together, no matter how much I didn't want them to.

_November 12, 2010_

_12:57 AM_

_Location: Basement._

_Feeling-Crushed? Literally. Aha._

I'm sitting here with Eli on top of my legs.

Nothing dirty, I promise.

It's quite weird, how we ended up like this.

Not long after school, Fitz, Owen, Tyler and I headed to my house to film. Our theme for our scene was, instead of the usual Romeo and Juliette feuding families type of thing, a female cop who falls in love with a gang member. Fitz was the gang member, and Tyler we forced into one of those super slutty police officer costumes they had on sale in town and a wig to be my roommate/partner on the job (aka the Nurse). It went hilariously, and we got an awesome shot of Tyler walking out of the room in his costume, the horrible synthetic fabric clinging to his ass. We even got a blooper of him picking a wedgie. When it came to the kissing scene, we were standing outside my mom's room on the patio, with both Tyler and Owen watching.

"Let's get this over with then," I said, crossing my arms. I was in barely anything-it was a cool November afternoon, and we were trying to play it off as sunrise, so we had to get things done fast before the sun set-no more than a bra, pajama shorts and a black v-neck, with my hair in a messy ponytail. Owen picked the camera up off the table, pointed it at us, and I heard a familiar beep as the camera went on. I took a breath and started my lines, looking at Fitz as he backed into the wall of the patio, ready to "climb down." "Then, window, let day in, and let life out."

"Farewell, farewell! One kiss, and I'll descend." With one leg over the wall, he looked at me before closing his eyes and pulling me down for a long, passionate kiss. It wasn't what we discussed; a quick, short peck that was sweet enough to make the girls (and Ms. Dawes) go "awww" but not enough to elicit any sort of suspicion. When he pulled back, I stayed in character as much as I could, smiling and holding out my hand until he disappeared behind the wall, saying his last couple of lines, and Owen yelled "cut!" But the second he popped back up off the ground, I couldn't help myself anymore. I slapped Fitz across the face; hard. He was just as surprised as Owen and Tyler were, and the look he gave me was filled with utter shock. "What the fuck was that for?"

"For trying to stick your tongue down my throat, you pervert!" I gave a disgusted sound and turned back to the other two boys. "Are we done?" They both gave silent nods, and I narrowed my eyes. "Email me the videos when you get home. I'll edit them together tonight." I pretty much kicked them all out of the house after that. Fitz sent me a text moments after leaving that said "Ouch :(" and I sent back a smiley face, saying I'd explain later. Not even half an hour into editing the videos together, there was a knock at my door. I took my time getting there; I knew who it was, and making him wait was more fun than getting there fast. When I pulled the door open, Fitz was standing with his arms wrapped around himself. He was still in his basketball shorts and a tee shirt, what he'd thrown on after filming to run out the door in.

"What the hell was that all about?" he asked, pushing his way in to the house. I closed the door and smiled.

"You're the one who shoved your tongue down my throat," I said with a shrug, and he smirked. "I just did what I could to make it seem like I didn't want it."

"But that just made it hotter," he replied, and somehow I was backed up into the wall next to the door. He dipped down to give me a kiss, and there was the sound of someone clearing their throat near us. My mother stood in the hallway, and when we pulled apart, surprised, she rolled her eyes.

"I thought you two were working on a project with those other boys downstairs." I walked towards her, adjusting my clothes. She sounded like she was pissed. Why though, I have no idea. She's never upset with me.

"We were, now it's just us though. We've got to edit and…" I trailed off when she started laughing.

"I'm just kidding, darling." She smiled and tilted her head. "You two are cute," she said, pointing a finger at us. "But don't get too serious. I don't need any more stories on Perez tearing you down." As she walked into the kitchen, the two of us looked at each other and laughed.

We worked on editing the video for the next couple of hours; three bags of all natural microwave popcorn and a six pack of Diet Coke later, we found ourselves drifting off. The video was done, and we were sitting there watching Easy A on my computer. The next thing I knew, I was being woken up by my phone blasting the Glee _Toxic _cover.

"_Really_?" I felt Fitz's chest vibrate under me as he laughed, and I smiled, inhaling one last time before sitting up and unlocking my phone, not even bothering to see who was calling.

"Hello?"

"Hello?" It was a girls voice. "Hello, who is this?" I raised my eyebrows and looked at Fitz. He mouthed _who is it _and I shrugged.

"Uhm, who is _this_? You called me."

"This is Bianca."

"Bianca DeSousa?" I asked, a hint of shock in my voice. "This is Hollie Peterson." There was a laugh on the other line.

"Figures _you'd _be the fucker's emergency contact."

"Emergency contact?" I repeated. "Bianca, what's going on?" There was a pause, and I heard a guy's voice in the background.

"Listen, you know I _hate _to call _you_, but I'm here with your buddy Goldsworthy and-

"You're with Eli?"

"Would you quit cutting me off?" There was another pause. "Christ. I'm with Goldsworthy and he's kind of wasted. I have his keys, but he keeps insisting on driving home. I don't know how to drive a stick, and that's what it seems his…_car _is. Is there any way you can come pick him up?" I told her a hurried yes and closed my phone; Fitz looked curious.

"It's Eli."

"Again?"

"I've gotta go," I said, standing up. I raced into my room, stripping off my shorts and throwing on sweats, not even noticing that the door was open (not that Fitz would look…he's not _that_ much of an ass). I went back out into the living room, grabbing my keys and phone and kissing Fitz quickly. "I'll see you tomorrow in class." He shook his head, grabbing onto my hand.

"Uh-uh. There's no way I'm letting you go alone again."

"I wasn't alone last time, Fitz. Adam was there."

"But is he there now?" I looked at my phone; it was already eleven fifty. With an eye roll, I grabbed Fitz's hand and we reached my car in a matter of moments. Mom was fast asleep, so we didn't have to worry about her wondering where we were going or anything. We reached the ravine in less than five minutes, pulling up in the same spot I had last week. As I suspected, I saw Eli sitting around a fire with a bunch of random people, including not only Bianca, but Tyler and Owen. Owen was the one to help Bianca get Eli to my car, and when they dumped him in the back seat, mumbling incoherent things under his breath, they both gave Fitz a look that clearly said _what the fuck_.

"He's my neighbor; the only one up late enough to help me get Eli back into my house." I glanced at the boy in my backseat as I jumped back into the car, and Owen spoke; I almost slapped him as he did.

"From kisses to slaps to midnight calls; you got this girl wrapped around your finger, Fitzy." Owen reached over for a fist pump from Fitz, and with a confused and semi-horrified glance back at me, he returned it. Bianca's glare, clearly directed towards me, looked something like a cross between confusion and _Bitch, hold up_. I glared back at Owen as we pulled out, and as soon as we were out of view, I slapped Fitz across the arm.

"Ow! Really? Again with the violence?"

"I am _this _close to kicking your best friend in the nuts." I gestured with my thumb and fore finger. "Really. He basically just spilled to Bianca that we kissed, and…" I glanced in the rearview to see Eli sitting up drowsily. "_Fuck_."

"Kissing?" He rubbed his forehead, and started muttering again. "Kissing….kissing Clare…." I narrowed my eyes at his reflection as we rounded the corner into my neighborhood, and looked at Fitz. He looked extremely confused. Eli laid back down against the side of the backseat, closing his eyes. And then, it hit me. Like a ton of bricks. The reason he was getting drunk.

"He and Clare kissed on screen for Dawes' project." His eyes widened, and he let out a shocked little laugh.

"Finally!" I smiled to myself. "She's got everyone macking on screen for this project, huh?" I rolled my eyes again, pulling into my driveway and turning the car off. "But why would he get drunk because of that?" He got out first, gesturing for me to wait, and then came around and opened the door for me. I feigned a curtsey and laughed as we both came around to the side where Eli was.

"Maybe he's too chickenshit to admit he likes her," I replied with a shrug, opening the door. Eli almost fell out onto the back seat, and both of us rushed forward and pulled him up, an arm over each of our shoulders. "Holy….shit…" I said, adjusting his weight and kicking the door closed. "He's heavier than he looks."

"Here," Fitz said, and shifted to where all of Eli's weight was on him. "I got it."

"Sure?" He nodded and pulled Eli all the way down to my basement. Elli stepped a few times; didn't really do much of the walking though. Fitz dumped him on the couch in the living room, and Eli immediately snuggled into one of the pillows. I laughed. "Of course." I rolled my eyes and shook my head, and Fitz leaned in for a kiss.

"I should probably go. You emailed the video to Dawes, right?" I nodded.

"She's got it. So…tomorrow."

"Should be interesting." He grinned and leaned in for one more kiss before jogging up the stairs. I didn't hear the door open or close as I sat on the couch next to Eli with my computer, finishing up some last minute stuff. I was in the middle of working on some lyrics when, out of no where, Eli sat up again, his head bouncing on the back of the couch, and then he fell the opposite direction he'd come from, right into my lap. So that's where we are now. I don't really consider it awkward or anything, though. I mean, he's one of my bes-

Uhm. He's talking. In his sleep.

"Julia…" What? Who the fuck is Julia? Holy crap. As I was typing, he thrashed to the side in my lap, almost rolling off the couch. "It's my fault!" What the hell? He's like, yelling. My eyes are wide, and I poke at him to try and wake him up…maybe he's having a nightmare? What the _hell _is going on?

_10:20 AM_

So I found out. What Eli's been keeping from us. Well, from me and Clare. Adam's known for a while.

When I woke up, sun was just starting to come through the small windows in the living room. Eli was still on top of me, and I gently shoved him off as I went to go get ready. Finally at 7:15 I shook him awake, holding a cup of coffee in front of his face.

"There's aspirin on the table. If you need to shower, do it quickly. I can take you by your house to get clothes." He narrowed his eyes at me, grasping at his head.

"I'm not going _anywhere_ with this hangover." He popped the bottle of aspirin open and took three little white pills with a sip of black coffee, just the way he liked it. I cradled my can of Diet Coke in my hands and looked at him.

"So you're going to skip out on Clare the day presentations are due?" I glanced down at the can and flicked the tab sticking up, making a small bouncing sound in the silence of the room.

"She has the video done. All we need to do is sit and watch the damn mash up video of all of our scenes." I shook my head and took a drink.

"She's gonna be pissed."

"And I care _why_?" Ouch. I gave him a hurt look on behalf of Clare, and shook my head.

"You're being a real dick, Eli." He looked up from his coffee, eyes wide. "Clare may be too nice to say it, but I'm not. You're being an ass to her, to both of us, for no reason at all. You really hurt her yesterday, Eli." Clare had called me right after school, as the four of us were setting up to shoot in the master room, bawling her eyes out. She'd confronted Eli, and he'd flat out told her he had no feelings for her. No feelings, _my ass_.

"And I'm sorry about-

"Don't you _dare_ say you're sorry to _me_, Goldsworthy." I sat my drink down on the bar behind me. "Who's Julia?" His eyes widened, bigger than I've ever seen. "Oh, so I'm not supposed to know about her, huh? Who is she? Ex girlfriend? Get a girl in trouble or something? Maybe dump her a little too-

"How do you know about Julia?" He sounded severely concerned.

"You were talking about her in your drunken stooper-slash-sleep last night." He shut is eyes, his hand resting on his forehead and shaking his head. I guess I _really_ wasn't supposed to know about her. But slowly, he told me.

Julia _was_ his ex girlfriend. His **dead** ex girlfriend. When he'd said that, I'd taken an involuntary step back, and he laughed, saying that's how everyone reacts. They'd been together for two years, and had always had a sort of rocky-but passionate-relationship. Yeah, because I really needed to know the passionate part. Anyways, they'd been fighting one day over by the park, and after heated words, she'd gotten out of the car and stormed off. Twenty minutes later, Eli got a call that she'd been hit by a car not two blocks from where he'd left her. The entire thing surprised me; I'd been expecting something big, but not _this _big. But I kind of understood where Eli was coming from, being an asshole to Clare. He didn't want to get hurt again, and he didn't want her to get hurt either.

"You know she genuinely likes you, right?" He shook his head. "Quit being so damn counterproductive and just tell her already. I don't think anything you do could _ever _make her not like you. You could probably kick a dog and she'd still love you." He gave me a weird look. "Not that I'm saying you'd ever kick a dog or anything." He laughed, and I ran to my room and grabbed my bag for school, coming back and picking up my drink. "Just…tell her, okay? She's freaking out."

"I'll think about it." That was good enough for me.

_12:50 PM_

I think Adam wants to rip Fitz a new one.

It's partially my fault, I guess. I shouldn't have kept that cut of the kiss in the video. But I wasn't going to dare to let Fitz kiss me in front of Tyler and Owen again.

Earlier this week, I talked to Ms. Dawes, and she agreed that, due to having, well, me, in her class and the fact that all the videos were going to be shown in all the class periods, she would take up everyone's cell phones before she showed the finished plays. I know, I know, extreme. But I would rather have the classes annoyed than a video of Fitz and I kissing going viral. So when I got to English and saw Ms. Dawes just near her door, I automatically dug into my pocket and pulled out my phone.

"What're you doing?" I looked at Clare as I pressed the off button on the top of my phone and then nodded to Ms. Dawes.

"She's taking up our phones." She gave me a look. "Some kids in the first couple of classes told me earlier." She pulled her phone out of her bag and pressed the off button too.

"I wonder why." I pursed my lips as I handed Ms. Dawes my phone, and gingerly took a seat before Adam and Clare. I glanced around for any sign of Eli; he'd already texted me saying he'd be staying at my house till he was well enough to walk home, but I told him to crash until I got there to take him. But for some reason, I really hoped he'd walked the five blocks to get here. On presentation day, Clare would be as nervous as ever. She sat down, and Ms. Dawes closed the door, walking up to the front. I twisted my hands in my lap as Ms. Dawes pressed play on her computer and the videos started to roll. _Hamlet_ was the first play she showed. Some of the videos were funny. Some were hokey. Some were good. We got through the first play faster than I thought we would, and I felt my palms start to sweat as _Romeo and Juliet_ started. "Are you okay?" Clare whispered across the isle. I nodded slowly as Ali, KC and Jenna's party scene played on the TV. Their scene was actually pretty well done. They'd filmed it at an _actual _party. It felt like no time passed before the wedding scene showed, and then, then came the scene I was dreading.

"Shit," I muttered under my breath, and I laid my head down on my desk. "Shit, shit, _shit_."

"What're you…" Clare trailed off before finishing her sentence, and I squeazed my eyes shut, pulling my head up and shaking my head. My voice played, the short but sweet conversation we shared while laying in my bed. I tried not to look; I'm sure I had multiple chins and the tank top I was wearing was ridiculously tight. But of course, because he wasn't in the video, Owen got to be head costumer. Go figure he'd put me in the skankiest top and pajama shorts I owned. I heard my own voice, shortly followed by Tyler's attempt at a girl voice. The laughter of my classmates drowned out my reply, and I opened my eyes. "I don't see why you think this is that bad. It's actually pretty funny."

"How the hell did you get Tyler into that costume?"

"It was Owen's idea," I muttered, and sank into my seat as Fitz and I stood up on screen.

"_Then, window, let day in, and let life out._"

"_Farewell, farewell! One kiss, and I'll descend._" I watched as Fitz leaned forward, and I crossed my arms, sinking into my seat. And when we kissed on screen, that long, "ohhh" inducing kiss that had most of the kids in my class turning around to look at me with raised eyebrows, Adam and Clare stared straight forward. I sat as low as possible, waiting to be yelled at. But they both just stayed quiet through the next couple of scenes. Then came theirs. I watched with as much enthusiasm that I had the first time, excited to see if people reacted as much to Eli and Clare's kiss as they had to mine and Fitz's. But as soon as Clare said her generic soda line, the screen froze and words popped up. "_Juliet could join Romeo in death, but instead decides he's not worth it and chooses life. Go Juliet_!" And it was over. Just like that. No kiss, no awkward silence and stares at Clare. I let out a surprised laugh and looked at Clare expectantly.

"What the hell was that?" I asked, leaning forward.

"What was _mine_?" Clare turned around, glaring at me. "What the heck was yours? You kissed _Fitz_."

"Seriously," Adam interjected, turning around too. "I thought I was going to hurl." He looked pissed.

"Believe me, it wasn't any better for me!" I put my hands up in defense, trying to feign disgust right along with them. "It was supposed to be a little peck, and he went in for the big one."

"I would have slapped him," Clare said, crossing her arms.

"I did as soon as the camera stopped rolling." With a smile, Clare offered her hand for a high five. I took this as a chance to move in and change the subject.

"So why did you take out _your_ steamy makeout session?" She rolled her eyes and faced the front, shaking her head.

"It just didn't feel appropriate keeping that in the video. Especially since he's not here."

"Yeah, where _is_ Eli?" Adam gave me a questioning glance and I shrugged.

"Wherever he is, I'm sure it's not-

"Eli not liking me is one thing," Clare interrupted as she turned back around. "But abandoning our group at the eleventh hour? It's unacceptable. It's like he's got this big, dark secret. He's so confusing." Adam and I shared a glance. I'd cornered him this morning before homeroom and berated him for not telling me about Julia in the first place. With me being, well, me, I think they should know by now that secrets are kind of my thing. The entire entertainment industry is built on secrets.

"He is a weird one."

"He talks to you," Clare whined to him. "Next time he talks to you, can you investigate for me?" He gave her a look. "Please."

"So I've gone from third wheel to go between?" Adam and I rolled our eyes in time to hear Ms. Dawes calling the two of them to come see her. They wound up getting chastised for changing the ending of the play, and Clare was made to change it.

Serves her right for taking out the best part.

After lunch at The Dot, I drove back in time for Clare to go by and talk to Ms. Dawes about her project; I decided it might be a good idea to talk to her about mine too. There were one or two bits I wasn't really sure about, and now that she'd seen it a few times, I could ask for critique and everything. I left Adam at his locker and walked to the English room, getting at the door in time to hear Clare say "I guess I'd rather have him in my life as a friend than not at all."

"Okay," Ms. Dawes said, "and it might help to hear from him why he doesn't feel the way you do." Clare sighed.

"Fun," she said sarcastically.

"Believe me, getting closure is never easy." Ms. Dawes shook her head. "But you're strong." I chose the end of the conversation to walk in.

"Talking about a certain raven-haired fellow, I presume?"

"You presume correctly," Clare said with a laugh, and then looked at Ms. Dawes. "Thank you." She turned back to me. "Do you want me to stay?"

"I'm fine. I'll meet see you in Algebra."

"Have fun with Fitz and his bonehead entourage."

"Always." I gave her a grin over the shoulder and she waved at the two of us as she walked out.

"I must say, I think you being in this class might have started a quite impeccable foresome." I smiled at Ms. Dawes.

"I think you're right." I set my bag down and walked up to her desk. "I was wondering if you had any critique on our scene? I mean, I know you're not the theatre teacher or anything, but Anya told me about the LARPing and I figured you might have some insight into it." She shook her head.

"Ah, yes, our time in the forests." Her eyes glazed over a bit, like she was remembering something fun. "I wish I still had time to do that, but since I picked the English classes up again I'm too busy to do anything outside of school." She took her glasses off for a moment, rubbing her eyes. "As for your scene, I don't think I have _anything_ to say except job well done. I loved the gang and cops idea, and I think seeing Mr. Mayfield in that costume might be the highlight of some people's days. I knew you could get those boys into shape."

"Actually, I wouldn't have been able to do it without Fitz."

"Ah, yes, Mr. Fitzgerald." She put her glasses back on and looked up at me. "I've been meaning to ask you about that." That did _not _sound good. "I was watching your video this morning, and I was very intrigued by the amount of chemistry you and Mark shared on screen. I've heard about the disputes between he and Mr. Goldsworthy, but I have to wonder…is there something going on between the two of you?" This woman…this woman, I swear. She could read right into me. I gave her a shy smile. "Ah, so my suspicions were correct." She gave me a smile back. "And I assume that neither Mr. Goldsworthy nor Mr. Torres knows about this…relationship?" I shook my head vehemently.

"Not even Clare knows we're friends, and she's one of the closest people I have to a best friend out here." I look down at the desk and trace a heart with my finger. "Only Fiona, Holly J, Declan and my friends back home really know. And our parents of course."

"And Tyler or Owen?" My eyes widened and I let out a laugh. "I guess that's a no." She laughed too, and looked down at the papers on her desk. "You two seem like such an unlikely couple on the outside, but after watching your scene, I'm starting to see a side of Mark that I haven't seen before. I've been watching all of you this last week, and he seems less boyish around you…more mature." The bell rang overhead, and I walked and picked up my bag, turning back to her.

"Is it really that obvious something's going on?" She smiled and stood up, grabbing the bucket off her desk. I walked with her halfway to the door as she spoke.

"Only if you're paying very, very close attention to everything that's happening. Which, believe me, almost none of these kids are."

_4:30 PM_

Owen walked into class with a black eye and split lip. I shit you not. After I gave Ms. Dawes my phone to put in the bucket, I sat and turned around, waiting for the three boys in my group to get there. Fitz was the first one to walk in, and he handed Ms. Dawes his phone with a smile before sitting down in front of me. "You're gonna like this one," he said as he turned around. I tilted my head, confused as to what he was talking about, but he nodded behind me and I turned around. Owen was handing his phone in, and when he looked up, I saw the damage Riley did to his face.

"Holy hell. Anya mentioned something at The Dot about Riley going apeshit this morning, but whoa." Fitz laughed as Owen walked up, and I turned to face him when he sat across from me. "Looks like _somebody_ made one too many jokes in the locker room."

"Looks like _somebody _needs to shut their freaking mouth." My eyes widened at his tone, but before I could say anything Fitz spoke.

"Hey, don't talk to her like that. It's not her damn fault you got punched in the face." Owen gave a grimace in our general direction and then faced forward, staying like that most of the period. I texted Riley, and he told me that Owen had written "Homo" on his locker and "Riley's Gay" on the bus in shaving cream. What. A. Douche.

Anya started the serious planning for the Bachelor/Bachelorette auction today. We had to be ready to be "sold" by Wednesday, and I had to bring an extra "sexy" outfit to change into. I warned Fitz that I was going to be sold, and his reaction was definitely less than pleasant. In short, he told his mom to fill up his debit card at a level that could be heard down the street.

I didn't hear from Clare until about nine. She finally texted me and said to come around. Her parents were out at a church function and she needed someone to talk to.

He told her. He took her to the place it happened and told her all about Julia. At first, I didn't know how to react. I wasn't really expecting him to just jump out and tell her so soon. But after the initial shock, I'm kind of excited for Clare. Doesn't this mean they can be together? Doesn't this mean all the secrets are finally over?

Oh, wait. That's right. I'm holding the biggest secret out of all of us.

_November 17, 2010_

_11:54 AM_

_Location: Cafeteria_

_Feeling-SCARED._

I have no idea why I agreed to this. Honestly. I don't know why I let Anya talk me into standing on stage and being auctioned off to the highest hormonal bidder.

I don't see why this is so bad though, why I'm freaking out. If I can stand on stage with Orlando, I think I might be able to do this.

So why I do I feel so damn uncomfortable in this dress? Why are my feet suddenly aching and my head's starting to hurt and my heart is racing at a mile a minute?

Maybe because I know that the only way today is going to end is Fitz bidding on me. In public.

_1:40 PM_

I was wrong. I was so very, very wrong.

The auction started as innocently as possible. I watched from behind the back wall in the cafeteria; the announcements had just said for males to come out and bid on a "very special female bachlorette." The females in the crowd were definitely dominant, but there were for sure males out there. The first few people got auctioned off, going for twenty, thirty dollars. Alli was the winning bidder on Drew, and once they were done hugging it out, they sat at a table in front. I'd told her, along with Clare, Eli and Adam, about being auctioned off. The three of them sat in the back corner, ready to laugh at whatever poor sucker was willing to pay money to go on a date with me. Eli's words, not mine. And yeah, I slapped him.

"And," Anya started, glancing around. "Our next bachelor on the block; Wesley Betencamp." There was some light applause as Wesley stood up on the stage, and I felt my eyes widen as I texted Alli.

_What the hell? Since when is Wesley a bachelor._

"Lets start the bidding at one dollar."

_I have no idea._

"Do I hear one dollar?" There was a definite awkward silence as everyone in the audience looked at one another. "Wesley, why don't you come and tell everyone a little bit about yourself."

_Ohmigod. Ohmigod. This is painful to watch._

_Lol! I know. I feel so bad. Drew tried to train him and everything…_

With a glance up on the stage, I heard Anya say "I'll bid two, do I hear three?"

_Read my next text out loud word for word. I'll explain later. _With shaking hands, I typed my next text. _I've got an anonymous buyer who wishes to bid fifteen dollars._

I saw Alli's eyes widen as she looked up on stage, and found me peeking out. I narrowed my eyes at her and mouthed "say it." And she did. And I won a date with Wesley Betencamp. He seemed more than chipper; elated, even. I knew deep down it was a pity bid, but Wesley was like a puppy dong. You couldn't just stand there and watch him suffer! Three guys later, and it was Zane's turn. I watched as the bids increased and increased, a smile creeping up on my face. 15, 20, 30, 35. And then I heard it. I knew the voice, I'd know it without even trying. "Fifty!" It was Riley. Riley had just bid fifty dollars on Zane. In a public auction. I felt my eyes widen and watched as Zane was finally sold to Riley; the guy that _really _deserved him. Both Zane and I shook our heads at Riley, and I pulled my phone out, sending a cute "way to go!" to Riley and a "Told you so!" to Zane. I had told him so. Last week, when he'd come bitching to me about Riley, I told him he was a good guy on the inside…he just had to get Riley to rid himself of that asshole exterior.

"And now…for the moment all you guys have been waiting for…." I squeazed my eyes shut, standing up and flipping my hair one last time. "I'd like to introduce our special guest and the only bachelorette on the block…HOLLIE PETERSON." There's an initial intake of breath before a huge bout of applause welcomed me on stage. I waved awkwardly to the people in front of me, easily spotting my friends in the back and giving them an eye roll. Behind some of the guys in the back, I spotted Fitz, and gave him a barely noticeable nod, hoping he caught it. "Let's start the bidding at…twenty dollars." My immediate reaction is to look at Anya with wide eyes. I almost wanted to say "Bitch, twenty dollars?" But then the first person in the crowd spoke.

"Twenty five!"

"Thirty!"

"Fourty!"

"Sixty!"

It got to one hundred. One hundred dollars for a date with me. In retrospect, that's kind of a small number, but when it jumped, it jumped.

"Two hundred." There was no need to look to see who was talking. I feigned shock and slight disgust as Clare gave me a look.

"Two _thousand_." I didn't have to feign shock for that bid. I felt my eyes widen, and I glanced around, looking for the source of the voice. It was Declan. Declan Coyne had broken through the crowd and was standing a few feet behind Fitz, a checkbook out and held up. "And I'll go higher if need be." Fitz threw me a helpless look and I squeezed my eyes shut. This isn't happening. This isn't happening. I just kept repeating that to myself over and over.

"Well, I'm going to guess no one's going to bid more than two thousand?" There was a stunned silence from the audience. "Going once…going twice…sold! To Mr. Declan Coyne." I tentatively stepped off the stage with Declan's help, and he led me to sit with the rest of my friends, sitting in the seat next to me. Ater the final bidding was over, I walked out with Declan, and he got about ten high fives from guys as we walked down the hall towards my locker where I stored my clothes to change back into. I stared into the locker for a second, gathering my thoughts. Declan had just paid two thousand dollars for a date with me. For one night of alone time with me. Did he not know he could have just asked to go see a movie and I would have said yes?

"Thanks for the warning," I said, throwing my phone in the bottom of my locker and pulling out my bag with my clothes.

"What, was I supposed to text you? Oh, how about _Hey, just a heads up, I'm buying a date with you_. Because that would have gone over so well." I rolled my eyes and walked down the hallway.

"It's not going to be a date," I said, turning around as I headed towards the bathroom. "You're one of my best guy friends. It'll just be another dinner with you."

"If you say so," he said with that trademark smirk as I finally walked into the bathroom, leaving him in the doorway. Something tells me he's going to consider this more than just dinner among friends.

_9:12 PM_

I didn't see Fitz until after school. When I got home, I went straight into my room and crashed. The last couple of weeks have been so exausting; I've had three tests, four quizzes and a reading check in the last seven days, and all of this business with making excuses about where I've been after school to Clare is starting to get on not only my nerves, but hers as well. If I have to tell her one more time that I'm working on a new idea for a book, I might actually have to start working on one.

An hour and a half later, I was awakened from my semi-deep sleep by the sound of three consecutive texts. The first was from Anya; _Thanks so much for today! I think Declan's bid payed for our entire trip to Districts! _The second from Clare; _Are you driving tonight or does my mom need to pick you up? _The last one made me roll over and groan. _We need to talk._

_Just come over. I'm in bed._ Not even three minutes later, the front door opened above me, and I heard Fitz's voice. "Oh, hey Mrs. Peterson." It's amazing how much you can hear through the vents in this house.

"Caroline, please." There was the sound of clinking glasses, and then the fridge opening. "Here, take this down to her. She's been in bed since she got home. I think it was a rough day."

"It's been a rough couple of weeks." I heard him coming down the stairs a few minutes later, and then the door to my room opened. Without looking up from where my face was planted into the pillow, I muttered a "just come in, why don't you. It's not like I could have been naked or anything."

"I don't think I've ever heard of you sleeping naked. Ever." I rolled my closed eyes and turned back over, facing him.

"Isn't this a lovely view?" I said, waving my hand over my face, where I'm sure a double chin and baggy eyes had developed in my position and lack of sleep.

"Gorgeous." His stern looking face faltered for a second to give a small smile, and then he held up what was in his hand. A Diet Coke and a water. "Your mom sent me with caffeine. Figured you'd need it."

"Figured right." I sat up in bed and held my hand out, and he sat on the side of the bed, handing the can to me and opening his own bottle of water. "You've never really been in here, have you?" He shook his head, taking a sip.

"Only for a second, and I didn't look around or anything." He glanced around, taking in the room for the first time. "It's a nice color. Tiffany Blue, right?" I nodded. "Your favorite."

"I painted it with Clare, Eli and Adam," I said, taking a long sip of my now open Coke. "We gonna talk? That is why you came over here, correct?"

"Yeah." There was a silent pause before he looked at me. "Why did Declan bid on you?"

"I have no idea."

"Don't give me that crap, Hollie. You looked surprised when you walked off stage, but I'm pretty sure you weren't caught as off guard as I was." I glanced up at him and caught his eye. There was this weird light behind it-a fire burning. Could that be a hint of…_no_.

"Is Mark Fitzgerald _jealous _of Declan Coyne?" I laughed, trying to lighten up the situation, but this seemed to make him madder.

"No, I am not jealous of that Bieber-haired, cardigan loving metrosexual." I let out a snort, covering my mouth to keep the Diet Coke from spitting out. He had a point. Declan was _way _too into his looks, and those cardigans did seem to be a staple of his wardrobe. But then again…

"Hey now. He's one of my best guy friends." Fitz narrowed his eyes.

"Guy _friends_. Friends being the questionable term here. Are you sure he doesn't see you as more?" I was quiet for a moment. He did have a point. Declan _has _always acted flirty towards me, but no more so than he does to Chantay and Anya. At least, I thought he was the same way with them. But hadn't called me all those names? _Sexy_. _Cute_. And that's when I realized what Fitz was so suspicious about; what I'd been suspecting for months, but had never really thought it was more than a vague idea. Declan liked me. Declan Coyne _liked _me.

"I-I don't know," I stuttered, putting my Diet Coke down on my bedside table. "I mean, it's possible, but-

"But what, Hollie? Either he does or he doesn't. There's not really a fine line."

"It took me a few weeks to realized I liked you," I said with a pointed glare. "_But_, I think you might be right. He may like me." He let out something between a growl and a sigh. "I don't see why that's such a big deal!" I leaned forward and caught his face in my hand before he could turn away. "You know I like you. I know you like me. But no one else knows it. And we're not even official. So let him like me for a little bit-maybe get the rumor mill running about a possible romance."

"People are already going to speculate after today," he said, not sounding at all happy. I held his face firmer.

"Let them. Because as long as people think something's going on between Declan and I, they won't suspect a thing about the two of us."

"And what if Declan actually wants something to happen between the two of you?"

"Then I'll just tell him that I like someone else."

"But-

I shut him up the only way I knew how. I kissed him, long and hard. He was tense at first, but then after a few seconds, his lips responded to mine hungrily, as if to say "you're mine." I smiled into the kiss and sat up on my knees, my hands finding their way into his hair, tugging ever so lightly. He let out a little moan that made our lips vibrate. This, I'd learned over the last few weeks, was his weakness. My hands in his hair, one at the top, one at the base of his hairline, pulling, kneading. He had yet to find mine. In a moment of empowerment, I worked my way around to the other side of the bed and forced him to lean back on my pillows. I leaned back, straddling his upper thighs, and he looked almost as shocked as I felt at my own actions. But, hey, we've been at this for two weeks and the stemiest thing we've done so far is a mini-makeout session on Saturday after we spent the afternoon making dinner for one of his mom's friends who just got out of the hospital.

Before his shock continued any further, I leaned down and kissed him again, this time more lightly, trailing small pecks down his jawline and up to his ear. "You're such a tease," he growled, not angrily, more in a joking manor. But there was nothing joking about the way his hand pulled at the silky material of the thin green dress I'd thrown on after the auction, or how he pulled my forehead to his, looking in my eyes. And without warning, he flipped me over, my head hitting the pillow with a soft _thud_.

"So I've been told," I muttered, and without hesitation, reached down and unzipped the front of his disgustingly camo hoodie. He sat up on his knees and pulled it off, unintentionally flexing his chest and ab muscles. I would love to know how I got so damn lucky to have a guy who spends at least two hours a day working out (there's a reason he looks so fit when he gets to school). I trailed my finger along the curve of his bicep, and he watched me, seeming almost mesmerized. I pulled the collar of his shirt with my other hand, bringing him towards me, and then grabbed the back of his neck and pulled his lips towards mine. I closed my eyes firmly, savoring in the feeling of having a warm body next to me for the first time in a long time; the feeling of someone's hands tangled in my hair; the feeling of want-of _need._ His lips trailed in the same direction mine had earlier-down my jawline, making my arms erupt in goosebumps. What happened next I was not expecting. When his lips hit my neck, I assumed he was just going to nuzzle there for a moment and then we would go back to kissing. But as he got further down to just above my collar bone, he hit a spot and I felt my back arch up from the bed. The jolt that went through my body made my knees grasp his thighs, and I felt him smiling into my neck.

"Looks like I found yours," he said, sitting up slightly and looking down at me. I just laughed and shook my head, and he didn't wait for a reply as he bent back down and assaulted my collar bone.

Twenty minutes later, we found ourselves calmed down, myself back on top, sprawled out half on top of him. My head sat on his chest, the thud of his steadily declining heartbeat in my ears, his fingers playing with my hair.

"I really wish you and my friends got along." He let out a laugh, and when I didn't laugh back, a long sigh.

"So do I."

_November 21, 2010_

_7:15 PM_

_Location: bedroom_

_Feeling-exhausted!_

I have literally been on the run since Wednesday. Seriously.

In the last four days, I've had five tests, three parties, two crying friends, one hair appointment and a grand total of _maybe _twenty hours of sleep.

Wednesday was normal; we worked with the first graders at church. Thursday brought a Fashion Maerch presentation with Fiona, an Algebra test, a reading check for English and a chemistry quiz I'm sure I failed. Friday welcomed three more tests and an assembly mandatory for all students about the graffiti found on the back wall of the school (I highly suspect Tyler). Friday night was party number one. Chantay's birthday was Monday, so she had a bunch of people over to not only celebrate turning 18, but the $300 bucks she'd won on her first (yes, her first) lottery ticket. That girl must be part Black Irish or something. Anya, for some reason, in the middle of the party, started _bawling. _She was completely drunk for some odd reason, and Holly J helped me get her to Chantay's bathroom where she plopped down on the closed toilet and continued to cry. She _still _won't tell either of us why, but I suspect it has something to do with the fact that Holly J and Sav were holding hands for a brief period of time during the party. I can't believe I didn't suspect that those two were together long ago.

Early yesterday afternoon, Clare and I were summoned to-get this-Mr. Simpson's house for Connor's birthday party. Apparently he's Mr. Simpson's godson. I didn't know this until yesterday morning when Clare told me where Connor's party was. There weren't that many people-twenty of us, maybe. It was a bit odd seeing some of these people outside of school-Wesley, Dave. Ms. Oh was even there. We played some silly party games and ate hot dogs and burgers as provided by Ms. Simpson. Some blonde college age girl and her husband (I think their names were Emma and Spinner?) were walking around helping with everything. I think it was college fall-break this week or something, and the girl was Mr. Simpson's daughter. The husband was kinda hot, but I think early twenties is a bit to far fetched for even me. Besides, I have my own hunk at home. Saturday night was this big party at Fiona's for her mothers' birthday. Only Holly J and I went, so I threw on one of my old Lanvin dresses-the one with pearls around the collar and everything-and we just drove there. By the time we arrived around eight, things were in full swing. Champagne was being toasted, hors d'œuvres were being served, and Fiona was already completely trashed. We let her giggle and slosh her drink around the house for an hour or so before a mutual look between Holly J, Declan and myself showed that we all agreed it was time for her to retire for the night.

Declan and I dragged her into her room, and he left while I changed her into PJ's and took all her makeup off. When I was done, I came back out to the party and stayed for a bit longer. At around ten, though, I was starting to get super tired. Holly J and I told everyone goodbye, and I dropped her off at her place before coming back to mine. But of course, I couldn't just crash, because when I texted Fitz that I was on my way home he immediately said he'd be there in fifteen. We were up till about two watching Skins-and then _not _watching skins.

Sunday morning Fiona, Holly J, Clare and I went to go get our hair done at some salon in downtown. It's where Fiona goes to get hers done. I have to say, the complimentary manicure and paraphin treatment was definitely worth the hefty price tag (Fi and I paid for Holly J and Clare-it would have been rude not to, since we invited them). Holly J was the only one of us who got anything really drastic done-a few good inches off her already short-ish hair. I got my highlights touched up, but other than that the rest of us just got trims and called it a day. Clare and I went back to my place where she gushed about her and Eli-how things were great with them and they've been seeing each other so much, and how wonderful and close they are now that she knows his secret. Then she suggested I find a guy. And you know who she suggested? Ethan. ETHAN. The kid on the basketball team with Connor, Dave, KC and Drew that insists on using completely unoriginal pickup lines on anything with a vagina. I kind of wanted to bang my head into the wall.

She finally just left a few minutes ago. I just feel like passing out…

_November 26, 2010_

_2:12 PM_

_Location: History_

_Feeling-confused, but somewhat excited!_

We're having another dance! I know, I know, things haven't gone so well for me at the last few, but I have a good feeling about this one. I went out to lunch with Holly J and Fiona today and we started talking about it, and I think a dance is just what we need at the end of term. We're having a meeting in the Student Council room next Friday to discuss ideas.

Things are getting more and more hectic around here. Finals are in less than a month, and so is the holiday season, and I can already feel the pressure of awards season even though it's months away. Most noms come out in a little over three weeks, and Sasha, Kim (Perry, from _The Band Perry_) and Chris (Colfer, yes, from Glee, and yes, he's my friend) are all shoe-ins for multiple noms this year. I'm starting to wish I could be out there with them the day they come out.

I'm actually starting on another book, too. After telling Clare I've been working on one for so long, I figured it'd be a good idea. I haven't really got the plotline down, but so far it's about this girl whose dad owns this large hotel in Los Angeles. In short, she falls for one of the wait staff. I'm kind of excited about it. The main character is very Blair Waldorf (in her lifestyle/fashion sense) meets Crystal Renn (in looks mostly).

Hopefully this one makes it to the top tens like _Kinda, Sorta_ did.

_November 30, 2010_

_5:20 PM_

_Location: Basement living room_

_Feeling- freaking out._

Remember how I said something big was going on with Fiona? Something I didn't know about? Well, now I do. We came home from shopping the other day to find Fiona's lawyer meeting with her mom. It took him leaving and all of us sitting down for her to tell me the story.

"Do you remember me telling you that I was dating Bobby Beckonridge?" I wracked my brain for a second.

"I think I remember hearing about it on the Page 6 site or something." I tilted my head to the side. "What did he do to you sweetie?" She looked at her mom, Declan and Holly J before trying to answer.

"He…he hit me." I blinked, uncomprehending for a minute. Bobby had hit her. Bobby Beckonridge, son of millionare New York real estate mogul Victor Beckonridge, had hit one of my best friends.

"What the fuck, Fiona? Why didn't you tell me before?"

"Hollie," Laura, Fiona's mom chastised. I took a deep breath, trying to get any thoughts of using another cussword out of my head.

"You know if I'd known anything I would have-

"That's why I didn't want anyone here knowing!" Fiona said, gesturing with her hands. "I don't want a pity party just because he pushed me down a flight of stairs." My eyes widened. "I just want to be a normal teenager. That's why I came back to Degrassi; this is where I felt the most normal."

"And of course I brought the paparazzo back into our lives," I said with an eye roll. She smiled for the first time since we walked in the door. "I really wish you'd told me, Fi. It would have explained a lot right from the beginning. There were so many rumors about why you left Vanderbuilt-that bitch Tinsley-

"Hollie," Laura said again. But this time it wasn't as chastising as it was warning. A sign that I'd said something forbidden. I backtracked on what I'd said, and then thought for a second. Tinsley. Tinsley must have had something to do with this.

"Well, nonetheless, I'm glad you told me." I reached out and set a hand out on her knee. That explained so much. We watched Bobby's deposition last night, and that smug bastard fucking straight up lied on video. He pisses me off so much now. I mean, it's one thing to hit a girl, but to make _Fiona_ sound like some lying, crazy bitch is a completely different thing.

On another completely unrelated note, Riley and Zane are supposed to go on their date tonight! I helped Riley pick out his clothes (again) and even let him borrow the Burberry Britt samples I had in the bottom of my vanity (really I just got them for Fitz because if he comes and sees me before school he always winds up smelling like me). I'm anxiously waiting to hear how that goes.

I guess Adam and Eli are supposed to have a guys night on Friday? Which means I'm with Clare. That's a good thing, I guess, because I haven't spent alone time with her in forever. I feel bad because for the last couple of days I've been keeping an eye out on Fi, and the weeks before that I've either been trying to figure out what was wrong with Fi in the first place, working on my book or making out with Fitz. Though I'm sure if she actually liked Fitz, she wouldn't have a problem with that last one since she and Eli are _always_ together now.

On the other hand, I don't think they've even made out yet. Which is surprising because Eli strikes me as an extremely sexual person. Not that I'm saying I would know or anything. Aha. Ahaha. Oh god. I so did not need that mental picture in my head. . But I'm still waiting for her to dish on that. Because when it happens I'm sure I'll get an earful from both of them.

_December 4, 2010_

_6:11 PM_

_Location: The Dot_

_Feeling- I want to bang my head into the wall._

For the love of God. These last couple of days….they've been weird.

I'm going to start off on a happy note and say that Riley and Zane's date went swimmingly. Yes, I said swimmingly. I have no idea why. And get this. He, Anya and I were all talking in the hall and he said he needs to go "big" when he comes out after football season-so Anya and I nominated the two of them for Winter Formal King and King. Do you know how awesome that would be? Pretty freaking awesome. And I guess he's officially out _anyways_ because the noms got posted online and in bold print if definitely says Riley Stavros and Zane Park. Oh, how Chantay's site makes me smile.

On a not quite as cheery but still happy note, we finally settled on a theme for the formal! It's going to be A Night in Vegas. Fiona, Sav, Holly J and I had a meeting on Wednesday before study period and Fi mentioned this big bash at her old school called _A Night in Monaco_. It also happened to be the theme of Keegan's 17th. I wholeheartedly agreed that gambling for prizes and velvet lined walls sounded like something everyone would have fun at. Fi acted weird at the meeting; she walked funny and was stuttering a bit. If I didn't know any better I'd say she was drunk, but she's not stupid enough to pull something like that at school. Holly J mentioned yesterday that Simpson might have a problem with it, and I guess we might have to present it to the PTA? But I'm sure we can handle that. If an international debutante, a novelist and a future female president can't handle giving a little old speech to a bunch of moms and dads then I don't think anyone else can. Holly J found an unfilled prescription for ant-anxiety meds in her textbook as they started study period and we both urged her to get it filled. Maybe it'll help her calm the fuck down during this Bobby thing.

After school on Thursday I met Zane at the Dot for an early dinner and some gabbing about the date only to see Clare and Eli sitting in the corner looking quite flirty. I had no idea they were hanging out that night, and I don't think Adam was aware either because the next time I looked up, he and Eli were in heated words and then he stormed out. As soon as Zane left I walked up to the table and asked Eli what happened. He forgot to tell adam that they couldn't hang out because he was with Clare.

I know I shouldn't be talking, but that's pretty shitty. Like, at least I don't make plans with people when I _know_ I can't hang out.

Then Friday at lunch…Jesus.

Alli, Clare, Eli and I were all sitting and talking about the dance at our usual spot indoors-it's getting a little chilly to eat outside. Alli's usually with Drew but I guess he had math tutorials or something. Adam came up to sit with us and I think he saw Clare and Eli being all giggly because the next thing I knew he was walking away. And that's when it happened. Adam was looking for somewhere to sit, anywhere open, and Fitz saw him. "Look like you're lost," he called out to Adam. I almost dropped my fork. Fitz had talked to Adam. In public. Without a snotty tone.

"Just trying to find a new place." To my utter and complete shock (with everyone else at my table), Fitz tapped one of the empty spaces across from him. "Seriously?"

"Oh shit," I muttered under my breath, and started to pack my stuff up without really thinking.

"It's a free country," Fitz replied with a still serious face. I was waiting for him to burst out laughing. To say it was a joke. Something. But he just gave me a glance out of the side of his eyes and then looked back at Adam expectantly. "I know we got off on the wrong foot, but…I'm over it if you are." Clare's jaw dropped. I stood up, throwing everything into my lunch bag as Adam sat down wordlessly across from Fitz.

"Where are _you_ going?" Eli said, sounding pissed off.

"To watch my best friend's back, because his best friend isn't." I turned to walk away.

"Hollie, I wasn't trying to-

"That's the fucking _point_, Eli. You weren't trying." I looked between him and Clare. "I'm with him until you two figure your thing out. Just because you're together doesn't mean he has to be alone." I turned back around and walked over to Fitz's table, watching him the whole way. When I lightly sat my drink down in front of the open seat next to Adam, the entire table got quiet. "Mind if I sit here?"

"Not at all," Fitz said with that cocky smile of his. I sat down across from Tyler and with the two of them-Tyler and Adam-were giving us both _what the fuck_ looks, I aimed my foot at Fitz's shin. It hit the target, and I saw his face tighten for an almost unnoticeable second. Adam glanced over at our-my-friends to see all three of them looking a bit astonished. "Soooo," Fitz started, dragging his word out and giving me a glare. "What happened? You two get in a lovers quarrel at guys night?" He gestured to the table behind us and Adam sighed.

"There was no guys night. He bailed."

"Probably blinded himself with too much guyliner." My eyes widened a little bit at the low blow to Eli's sense of style.

"Yeah, probably listened to Emo and got all emotional." I slapped Adam on the arm just as Eli walked up, looking slightly disappointed and offended by what he was hearing. I couldn't blame him. But I wasn't about to leave Fitz and Adam together without a median of some sort there.

"Clever, guys. Another stunning display of verbal acuity." With a searing look at me, he walked away. I looked at Adam, and knew in that second what he was about to do.

"_Another stunning display of verbal acuity!_" Adam mocked, and I punched him in the arm as everyone at the table laughed, and threw a glare in Fitz's direction. Lunch from there went uphill. Adam and Fitz actually got along when they weren't beating on each other (or in Fitz's case, Adam's brother). They had similar interests-Dead Hand, this band Fitz listened to religiously, WWE, and a mutual hate of John Cena. At the end of the period, Adam stunned me by saying "We should chill sometime soon." I thought my jaw was going to hit the floor. But no, that's what he really said.

"There's a match on tonight," Fitz started, dumping his tray and throwing his backpack on. "I have a kick-ass media room if you're game to watch."

"Sounds like a plan to me." Adam held out his hand for one of those fist grabby-things. "You're right down the street from Hollie, right?"

"A couple doors down, yeah. 4406." And the two of them walked off in conversation, leaving me with Tyler and Owen, extremely confused but slightly elated at the fact that one of my best friends and the guy I'm dating are friends.


	10. December 4, 2010, 12:25 PM

_December 4, 2010__  
__12:25 PM__  
__Location: Still at The Dot_

_Feeling- I still want to bang my head into the wall._

It took me a few hours to realize that my plans for the night had just been dropped without a second thought by Fitz. I was literally about to text him to bitch him out when I got a text from Andrea. Yeah. Fitz's mom.

_Hey Hollie! I guess Fitz is having one of his friends over tonight to watch wrestling, and Ben is staying at work late. I was going to start on a big batch of spaghetti sauce for when my sister's family comes in next week. You wanna come over and help?_

I replied with a quick _I'd love to! I'll be over at about six-thirty?_ And then went straight to text Fitz. _I'll see you tonight._

_What?_ He replied almost immediately as I walked to my seventh period. _I'm hanging with Adam tonight._

_Oh, I guess your mom didn't tell you-I'm hanging out with her tonight._ That sure got him talking.

I showed up at around six. I had some Chem homework to work on before I forgot how to do everything. Andrea was already starting to cut everything up when I got there. I threw my purse over one of the backs of a chair at the bar and approached her.

"Hollie, darling!" She pulled me into a small and easy hug, careful not to wipe her pepper-seed covered hands on my sweater. I laughed and hugged her back, before she turned back to her cutting board and opening a drawer just beneath it, pulling out a large knife similar to the one she already had laying out. "There's another cutting board right behind the mixer," she said, gesturing to the orange standing mixer I loved so much. I pulled the wooden board out and she set an onion the size of a large softball on top of it. "I like to do larger chunks in my sauce, but go ahead and cut it however you want to. There's one more over here when you're done." I looked down at the onion, and then, gritting my teeth, picked up the knife and started cutting. "So do you know this Adam boy that's here?" My eyes widened. I hadn't realized he was already here. I regained my normalness as quickly as possible and nodded.

"Yeah, actually. He's one of my best friends." She glanced at me then, pushing a pile of half-inch cubes of bell pepper across her board.

"Does he know about-

"Nope." I let out a laugh. "Pathetic, huh?" She laughed too, though there was more pity in it than anything. "I don't think he's even realized we're friends yet. He and the rest of my friends think the only reason I associate myself with Fitz is when I have a project or days like today, when he takes in stray puppies like Adam." She raised an eyebrow at me, and I reached for the second onion, pushing the cubes of onion over on my own board. "Adam and our friend Eli had a fight about him spending too much time with his…well, his girlfriend, for all intents and purposes, Clare." I shook my head. "You met them, actually. On Halloween. My friends, the boy with long dark hair and the girl with the choppy curls." She stopped cutting for a second, and then she nodded, her eyes going wide.

"I knew there was a reason Adam looked familiar!" she said, brandishing the knife in the air. I moved over a few inches to avoid getting sliced open like the third pepper she'd just cut apart. "He seems as sweet as can be-he'll be a good influence on Mark, just like you." She smiled and bumped my hip, and I bumped hers back, laughing. There were three things going through my head at that moment; all very different, but all relatively rational. The first was a feeling of caring; I wondered why I hadn't had any times like this with my own mother-hip bumping and vegetable chopping. Probably because my mother didn't cook, or like to draw any attention to her lower half, which she deemed extremely in-proportionate to the rest of her body. But also because, well, while she was my mother, she wasn't really one of those TV moms-the ones that pack your lunch and have long talks about life lessons. Hell, the only time she ever cares about where I was going and who with is when there's a chance it'll end up online and she's worried it'll cause a fuss she'll have to, and I quote, "clean up." Because _I _cause so many of those. My brother, maybe, but she's since left him behind to be dealt with by the family publicist back in LA.

My second thought was to wonder how she would think of me if she found out how much of a _bad _influence I was on her son. I mean, sure, in the time I'd spent with him he'd pretty much stopped doing hard drugs (not that he'd done much before) and was slowing down on the weed and boos, but in the last week or so we've made out more than we have in the almost month since we started dating. The third was more of a passing thought-a moment of over-thinking and then it was gone. Did she realize the connection between Adam, Fitz and myself? That Adam was the boy Fitz's friend had thrown into a glass door, leading to his suspension-the reason I'd come storming in the first time I met her? My logic told me no, because she wasn't currently offering Adam exorbitant amounts of baked goods and lemonade like I would in her situation. And then, after the passing moment, I remembered that she didn't know. Ben had covered for Fitz.

It took us less than twenty minutes to get everything together for the sauce. She'd already started browning some ground sausage and beef in a large stewing pot before I got there, and as we finished chopping the veggies we threw them in, followed by large amounts of fresh, halved tomatoes (to be broken apart after cooking), a few bay leaves, and a large amount of seasonings. "Here," she said, pulling a few glasses out of the cupboard and putting some ice in them. She gathered a bag of chips and an assortment of freshly made cookies from a plate on the counter and put them on a tray similar to what waiters use in restaurants. "Take this up and hang out with them for a little bit. The sauce will be ready to eat in about an hour; after eating we can watch a movie or something." She gave me a small smile and handed me the tray. I balanced it on my hand and shoulder, carefully working my way up the stairs. It's a miracle I didn't spill it. When I got to the door of the media room, I looked through the window; they were both seated on the couch, and the TV was at a near deafening level.

"Knock, knock," I said, walking in the tray. Fitz was the first to turn around, and he gave me a sly smile over the top of the couch.

"She does room service now, huh?" I narrowed my eyes at him and set the tray down on the table in the corner of the room. Fitz stood up, and Adam turned to look behind the couch in time to see me look up. His eyes visibly widened.

"Hollie? What're you doing here?" I handed each of them a glass and threw one on the table in between them for me, heading mechanically for the fridge as Fitz followed.

"I was making pasta sauce with Andrea-Fitz's mom. She told me to come chill will y'all for a little bit." Fitz smile as I pulled out one regular Coke, an RC and a Dr. Pepper, but Adam gave me a look that clearly said he did not understand anything we were talking about. I walked back over and set the soda on the table, looking at Adam. "Me cook with Fitz's mom. Me have nothing to do. Me walk upstairs and come sit with you till dinner be done." A mix of caveman and old English, I have no idea what came out of my mouth, but it made him laugh, and he seemed to understand. I plopped down on the couch next to Adam, and Fitz reached forward, handing each of us our sodas. I glanced up at the TV, just as some large, sweaty man was thrown onto the mat.

"Ooh!" both boys called out in unison. I looked at them and laughed, and at that moment knew that I would not understand anything going on. I pulled out my phone, realizing for the first time how many texts I'd accumulated in the hour or so I'd been there. There were eight messages in total. Two from Fitz; _Where are you?_ and _Let me know when you're done cooking_. One from Eli; _If you talk to Adam let me know_. As if that's going to happen. One from Adam; _Hey I'm heading over to Fitz's to watch that match later. You want me to come over and help with Algebra after? _I deleted that one with the first three, and looked up at the boy sitting on my right. When Adam was here, next to me, in the same room as Fitz, there was something different about him. He seemed a little less relaxed than he usually was; glancing out of the side of his eyes at Fitz like he was making sure there wasn't a blow or joke coming towards him. I tucked the thought to ask him to walk back to the house with me in the back of my mind and went back to my texts. There were three from Clare; _Are you seriously going to cook with Fitz's mom?_ I'd told her about Andrea's question as we headed to history that day, the first time I'd been able to see her without Eli or Adam flanking one of us. _Eli wants me to ask you to call one of us when you see Adam._ And finally, _I hope everything goes okay tonight_. The last one made me smile a bit, and was the only one I replied to.

_Thanks_.

The last one was a bit unexpected. It was from Declan. _So_ _I'm assuming you're not attending this little girls night Fi and Holly J are kicking me out of the house for?_ I tilted my head at my phone, racking my brain for any mention of a girl's night, but none came.

_I guess not. They never told me_.

_Any chance I can come by and hang out then? Sav's with Peter at some concert thing and I don't really feel like drowning out my loneliness with foreign films. Again._ I glanced at my surroundings; at Fitz and Adam's semi-inattentive faces as they watched the match on the TV.

_I'm with Fitz and Adam; sorry! _I put my phone away after that, trying to concentrate as much as possible on the match in front of me while simultaneously keeping Adam from seeing the way Fitz was toying with my hand on his side of the couch. Finally I pulled a blanket out from the open-able ottoman on the other side of the room and covered myself with it, pulling my knees to my chest and snuggling into them as Fitz's thumb ran over the hemline of my sweater on my arm. Half an hour later, I got a text from Andrea. _Pasta's ready! Bring the boys down!_

I let out a small groan, throwing my head back. I'd practically grown into the couch, and unfolding my legs after that long was an achy process that was in no way fun. "Dinner's ready."

"Ooh," Adam said, rubbing his hands together and standing up, offering me a hand at the same time as Fitz. I glanced at Fitz but took Adam's just to be on the safe side. I lead them down to the kitchen, where Andrea was already piling spaghetti into bowls. She smiled when she saw us and handed me a big spoon, gesturing to the large pot on the stove.

"Just give it a stir to get all the big stuff on the bottom and it should be good." I did what she asked, and each of the boys lined up next to me, holding out their bowls of pasta as I spooned heaps of sauce onto them. Without even waiting to be at a table; Fitz gabbed four forks from the drawer, setting two down on the counter for us and handing one to Adam, digging into his pasta. He shook his head, chewing the first bite with intense satisfaction.

"Man, I can never get sick of you guys' cooking," he said, looking down at his bowl and stirring the contents around. Adam, who was just slurping up his first bite, looked at all of us.

"You guys do this a lot?" I shot a searing glance at Fitz and then looked to Andrea for a bit of help.

"Hollie's a whiz at cooking," she said hurriedly. "She comes over to help sometimes when we're entertaining big group." I gave a shy smile and shrugged, trying to play the whole thing off.

"Just keeps my hands busy." I smile at everyone, and Adam seems relatively convinced, so I drop the entire thing. "I've got a little surprise for you," I said, turning to Andrea and pulling my bag up from under the counter. "I remembered you mentioning your little, uhm…" I glanced at the two boys in the room, and cupped my hand around my mouth to block out my words. "Cougar crush on Taylor Lautner the last time I was here." I gave a small smile as both boys, who heard what I said, made faces and swiftly excited the room, Fitz throwing me a small smirk over his shoulder. I rolled my eyes and blew him a silent kiss before I turned back to Andrea. "So I come bearing a present!" I dug in my bag until my hand grasped the cold plastic, and I pulled the case up into her line of sight. Her eyes widened, and she looked at me.

"But…it doesn't come out till tomorrow!" I let out a laugh and leaned against the counter, sliding it her way.

"Never under-estimate the power of PR." She raised an eyebrow at me. "They sent my dad three advanced copies last week-one for me, one for mom and one for my brother. But since my brother's neither a fan of the books nor of Kristen Stewart's-he thinks she's one of the most unattractive females ever, and I must agree with him-he had no use of it. So Dad sent them all to me. Mom hates vampires, so I gave her copy to Clare yesterday." She examined the DVD in front of her with still wide eyes. "Just consider it a thank you for keeping our cover." I gave her a small smile, and she came around and gave me a hug before putting together two more bowls of pasta.

And so, we spent the next two hours watching one of the many banes of my existence, _Eclipse_.

Adam finally left around 10:30 with the promise to meet Fitz and I for lunch the next day at The Dot for lunch and to work on some grammar stuff Ms. Dawes had assigned during English, and the second he was out the door I collapsed against the wall with a huff of relief. Fitz, standing not a foot away, let out a laugh, and I smacked him across the chest before laughing too and going to give him a small kiss. We both walked into the kitchen to find Andrea cleaning up, and I made a move to help her but she waved me off. "You two go spend some time together; I'll be down here fawning over the special features." She gestured to the TV in the living room, where the Eclipse menu was still playing with no sound. I let out a laugh and took Fitz's hand as we walked upstairs, collapsing on the couch with two large huffs. I fell against his chest, listening to the steady sound of his heartbeat out of one ear and his channel surfing with the other.

"Wait go back!" I said as he passed BBC. He looked down at me with narrowed eyes but went back up, settling on an episode of Doctor Who. I smiled and watched the TV as he set the remote down and his fingers immediately fell to my head where they played in my hair.

"Why are we watching Doctor Who?" he asked, looking at the TV. The Doctor and Donna were in Pompeii, trying to evacuate people before the volcano went off.

"Because I want to." He let out a little laugh, making my head move with is chest, and I smiled. "You and Adam seemed to get along pretty well tonight."

"He's a cool guy," Fitz replied simply, and I looked up at him. His face was calm; serene. But he was smiling. "I just don't know how long it will last." I pursed my lips, thinking for a moment. He had a point; eventually Adam would take Eli's apology or something will happen to make he and Fitz fight.

"Why don't we just relish in the fact that one of my friends actually knows we get along right now," I said, leaning back into his chest. He pulled me up a moment later, my face almost even with his, and kissed me long and hard. The kiss said everything he couldn't, just like it always did.

_December 10, 2010_

_12:32 PM_

_Location: The Dot_

_Feeling-exasperated_

What in God's name. Like, really. I think Adam has lost his marbles. There are quite a few things going on at the moment, but I'll start with the largest news.

After eating a light lunch at the Dot on Saturday, I tore off my high waisted shorts and tights, throwing on a jersey dress and running back over to Fitz's before the new episode of Fringe came on. When I got to the house, however, what was waiting for me was not a bowl of all natural popcorn and Fitz in his usual sweats and a tight tee. What I found was Andrea sitting with a full spread of makeup and other beauty tools splayed out across her kitchen table, with a garment bag hanging on the back of the chair.

"What's going on?" I asked, completely and utterly confused.

"Mark has a bit of a…surprise for you." She gave me a sly grin, holding out her hand. I hesitantly put my own in it, and she pulled me down into the seat in front of her. I set my bag down and looked up at her.

"What exactly is all this for?"

"Well, you can't very well go out in public looking like Hollie Peterson. So my job is to make you look…not like Hollie Peterson." From out of a box on the table she pulled out one of my wigs I'd stashed in my room upon moving here; long, blonde and completely real (yeah, it weighs a ton), I use the wig when out in public with friends sometimes in case of paparazzi mishaps. Dinners for birthdays just aren't the same when you're being asked for autographs. Sure, I love my fans, but not all my friends understand the constant interruptions. Suddenly, Andrea shoves a pair of track shorts and one of Fitz's button up's in my face. "Go change." I raised my eyebrows at her but took the clothes anyways, changing into them and coming back to sit down.

"Where exactly is Fitz?" I watched Andrea smile to herself as she pulled towards me, squirting a bit of lotion on her hand before she replied.

"He's getting things ready for tonight; he's been planning this for almost a week, Hollie. Really. I've never seen him this excited about something." I felt my eyebrows knit together as she rubbed some moisturizer into my face, realizing for the first time that the products on the table were all _mine_. The things I use on a daily basis. Olay. BareMinerals. Bad Gal lash. "He's had us all in on it; me, your mom. Even Ben helped out a bit."

"And you can't tell me anything?" She smiled, pulling out a bottle of primer and squirting the tinniest bit onto the tip of her finger.

"Not a chance." For the next hour and a half, she poked and prodded at me with makeup, tweezers, pencils and curlers of every sort. Before she put my makeup on she slid a wig cap over my mess of a bun, tucking in every loose hair. Once she'd finished with my base makeup, she applied a bit of wig tape to the cap and set the blonde wig on my head, coming around front to straighten it. Twenty minutes later she'd finished my eyes and was curling the ends of my hair in when the door opened and closed, and Ben's voice echoed through the entry way.

"T-minus ten minutes!" he called out, and Andrea's eyes widened, and she looked at me and then at her husband as he walked through the door. He smiled at both of us, and then looked at his wife. "You've got maybe ten minutes. He's just behind me." With another glance at me, she walked wordlessly over to the chair with the garment bag and picked it up, thrusting it at me.

"Change into this; everything else you need is in there-and be careful!" I walked quickly to the bathroom upstairs, shutting the door behind me and hanging the garment bag on the towel rack. Without even glancing in the mirror behind me, I slid open the zipper to reveal a dress in the palest shade of blue-a color somewhere between the sky and my room. It was a simple dress-a solid color with barely any detail save the pearls around the sweetheart neckline. But the way it was fitted just under the bust-how it kind of went out at the bottom-the thick straps. It was almost as if…_no_. I pulled it carefully off the hanger and glanced at the back. No tag. No sign of a tag at all. I examined the stitching; machine done, no doubt. But the way the straps had been stitched to the bust. The careful consideration of the placement of the beadwork.

Andrea had made this dress. There was no other explanation. She'd made it especially for me, and at that, I had no idea what to say.

At the bottom of the bag sat a pair of pantyhose, my white peep toe pumps and a white cropped ¾ sleeve sweater. I smiled to myself-she really _had_ gotten my mothers help. I slid the dress on, marveling at how it fit my body so perfectly. The pantyhose, shoes and sweater came on just as quickly, and for the first time I noticed the necklace dangling off the hanger still in the bag. It was one of mine; I knew it pretty well. I'd worn it the first time I met Fitz, come to think of it. Silver, with light blue and white accents. Perfect.

"He's down the street!" I heard Ben say downstairs, and I felt my heart speed up as I looked in the mirror for the first time since I changed into Fitz's shirt and my shorts. It didn't even look like me. Well, I mean, it did. But with the blonde hair, curled in and held back by a simple white headband, and the slightly over-done eye makeup, I kind of looked like Amanda B in _Easy A_.

"Hollie, you ready?" I gave myself one final glance in the mirror, smoothing out the front of the dress.

"Yeah!" I called out, giving myself a self-assuring nod. I had no idea what was going to happen that night. Something big, no doubt. But what it was, I could only guess. Downstairs, the door opened and closed again, and I heard Fitz's voice in the entryway.

"How'd everything go?"

"Without a hitch so far," Andrea replied, and I stepped out of the bathroom, taking one final deep breath before walking down the stairs. Andrea's expression was my favorite. She looked like one of those movie moms; proud and slightly in awe. Ben just looked excited. Fitz, though; it was like we were going to prom and I was walking down the stairs to meet him for the first time. He grinned like nothing in the world could stop him.

Until I almost fell down the stairs.

That damn bottom stair catches me every single time, I swear. I hit the last one, and the little notch in the wood caught on my heel, sending me propelling into Fitz's chest. He laughed, looking down at me, and I let out a breathy laugh, trying to calm the blush seeping its way into my face. "That was smooth," he said quietly, and I rolled my eyes into his chest, my hand swatting at his arm as I pulled away, looking at him. He was dressed in my favorite; blue button up, khakis, leather shoes. His hair was a mess, as usual, but I liked it that way. It always reminded me of that rumpled look he had the day I fell asleep on his couch and we woke up just in time for me to be late to school.

"You couldn't have hinted that something was going on tonight?" I asked, searching his face for any sign of what was in store for me.

"Now where's the fun in that?" He smirked, that smirk that gets me every time, and Andrea held something out to me as I gave him the smile I always give him in reply to the smirk. It was my white lace Nine West clutch, and when I peered inside, I noticed it was filled with essentials-chapstick, gum, blotting papers, my debit card and ID, earphones and most importantly, my cell phone.

"Before you two go," she said, and pulled something out of her pocket. A camera. "I have to have one of those a-typical mom moments and take a picture." Fitz rolled his eyes, but didn't protest as he slid his arm around my shoulder, mine around his waste. I used my free hand to push some hair towards my face, just the way I usually do for pictures, and leaned into Fitz. _My _a-typical moment. The camera flashed, and she turned in the other way, getting one more picture.

"Okay, okay. Mom, we got it!" Andrea let out a laugh and slid the camera back into her pocket, and before I could blink they were ushering us out the door. "I've got a surprise in store for you tonight, hon," Fitz said as he opened the door, and I rolled my eyes.

"Understatement." Fitz and I got in his car, waving at Ben and Andrea as we drove away. The second we got out of eyesight, I turned to Fitz. "You didn't have to ambush me, you know." Fits didn't even look at me, instead he just shifted gears and then took my hand, resting the other on the center glove box, in his. I didn't move, but rolled my eyes. "I mean, really? Having your mom give me a makeover just so we could go out?"

"So I felt like going out with my…" He stopped mid sentence, and squinted at the road. "I felt like going out," he started again. "So sue me."

"You still could have told me," I said, and he gave my hand a squeeze.

"I just wanted it to be a surprise, okay?" He got onto the freeway. "A little spontaneity is all." I shook my head lightly and intertwined my fingers tighter with his as he kept driving. I stayed silent the entire way there, my mind running over possible scenarios one after the other. _What was going to happen? Why all the secrecy?_ My phone, still snug inside my bag, vibrated just as we exited the freeway, and I pulled it out. Fitz glanced at it. "You might wanna turn that off for tonight. You're not gonna need it." I glanced down at the screen; it was a text from Clare, asking to come over and do Algebra homework with her and Eli.

"Because _everyone_ knows we're going out tonight." I rolled my eyes and typed a quick reply to Clare; _Can't! Novel writing lockdown; gotta finish this chapter!_ And as I looked up, I realized where we were. "Fitz, what're we…"

"Don't ask questions tonight, Hollie." He turned in his seat as he finished parking the car and looked at me. "I know you like being in control and planning everything, but this is something I planned out for you. Just enjoy it; don't question." He looked so genuinely proud of himself; that masculinity you see radiating off of fictional handymen and husbands who help set up things around the house was coming towards me in waves. It was all I could do not to jump him then and there, so I just leaned forward and kissed him gently before he smiled and got out of the car, coming around and opening the door for me. I was suddenly very glad I'd taken the sweater-in the thirty minutes we'd been in the car, the temperature outside had dropped some ten degrees. "It's warmer inside-trust me." I looked up at him as I took his hand, and then glanced at our surroundings. We were in the parking lot of a country club I'd been to before-they had a press conference here for _Catch the Wave_. I'd tripped going down the stairs and Lucas, for the third time since filming started, caught me.

"Terrace on the Green, right?" Fitz stopped in his tracks, turning to look at me.

"You've been here before?"

"Once. For a press thing a year or so ago. We were on the other side of the grounds though-I just recognize this part because we drove through it." His face went from slightly alarmed to calmer in a second. He didn't say anything after that, just took my hand and lead me up a few stairs, until we got into the lobby of what looked like a restaurant. A short woman with a blonde bob was waiting for us, a grin on her face. "Mr. Fitzgerald, Ms. Edwards, your table is ready." My eyebrows shot up at the words "Ms. Edwards," and I gave Fitz a look as we followed her out of the lobby and into the main part of the restaurant. He leaned close, so only I could hear, and when he spoke, his breath hit my neck.

"When they asked for your name I couldn't very well say 'Hollie Peterson.' So I just said 'Hollie Edwards.' It was the first thing I could think of." I rolled my eyes, just as we came to a stop, and when I looked at the setup I fought a gasp. It was beautiful. One of the tables was set apart from the others-just two chairs and a smaller table, but on top was a white table cloth with white rose petals littering the top, and a rose of the same color on one side. There were champagne flutes and a glass of cider in ice, and a waiter sat us both down, smiled, and then walked away. I looked at Fitz over the table, setting my bag on my chair behind me.

"Fitz, this is…" He raised an eyebrow at me, and I set my hand out on the table, reaching for his. He set his over mine, his thumb rubbing the top of my fingers. "This is amazing." He smiled to himself, and then left go of my hand, moving to open the cider.

"I wanted to take you out on a serious date-since our first was all at home meals and burning desert, I figured you deserved to be lavished a bit. Well, lavished by me." He popped the cork off and quickly went to fill my glass with the bubbling drink.

"But why? What's the occasion?" He gave me another sly smile, handing me back my glass.

"All in due time."

He didn't answer any of my questions. Not through drinks, not through the first or second course (Caesar Salad followed by steak and potatoes-my favorite), and not even when I started rubbing my foot up and down his calf as we shared some sort of warm chocolate cake, though I could feel him crossing his legs tighter every couple of moments as we gave each other flirty glances. The poor waiter and hostess must have felt nauseous, with all the mushy, googley eyes going on. I felt like we were Clare and Eli, which, in some cases would be a good thing, but in this instance it just felt like more PDA then I was used to. It was fun though. A chance to get out of our rooms. When we were done eating, the waiter came up behind me to pull out my seat, but Fitz gave him a look, doing it himself before taking my hand in his and leading me back outside. It took me a minute to find my footing on the gravel trail we walked down, past the parking lot and down a narrow path between trees, lit by tall light posts on either side. Fitz held my hand tight the entire way, and we shared small glances and smiles every once in a while. For once, I didn't ask questions. I didn't say anything. I just enjoyed his silent company.

"Can you believe it's been almost two months since you started at Degrassi?" I looked up at him with raised eyebrows, surprised by not only the fact that he'd been paying attention to the date when I started, but had been keeping track of how long it had been since then.

"Has it really?" I let out a laugh, following him as he led me towards a small lighted area near a willow tree, a bench positioned just under its branches. "Feels like longer."

"It does," he agreed, shaking his head. "I met you on your first day. The tenth, right?" I nodded silently. "It's amazing how much a person can change in two months."

"How so?" He sat me down on the rickety bench, and then sat next to me, his arm going over my shoulder and pulling me into his chest.

"You know I haven't touched a joint or blunt in like a month?" I'm even more astonished by this than I was by his record keeping.

"But you were smoking with Owen at the ravine when I went with Alli the other day."

"I was smoking a cigarette. Owen had the blunt." He looked down at me. "I'm still trying to kick the smoking habit, but for right now it's keeping me from smoking weed." I gave him a look of admiration, and snuggled into his chest.

"You know, I don't care about you smoking, as long as you don't do it around me."

"I know, but I could tell you really hated it, even if you were too proud to say anything. You recoil and make a face every time I smell like any kind of smoke. It'll probably take me a while-fuck, I've been smoking Marlboros since I can remember-but I'm willing to do it." I gave him that look again, and took his other hand in mine.

"That is one of the sweetest things to ever come out of your mouth."

"I've got something sweeter." I sat up, but before I could say anything, he took both my hands in his. I looked down at them and then back up to his face, where he caught my eyes. "Hollie, you have to know why we're here. Why I'm doing all of this." While it's true a few ideas had crossed through my mind, I really didn't know for sure why Fitz was doing all this. "It's been nearly two months since I met you. And in those two months you've made such a change in my life. You've made me so happy-happier than I've been in a really long time." He gave my hands a squeeze, and said the words I'd been waiting almost two months to hear. "Hollie, will you be my girlfriend?"

Of course I said yes. There was no question to it. And we spent an hour giggling and being all mushy on that bench, until I couldn't feel my fingers anymore and I forced him to drive us home, where the (disgustingly) adorable mushiness continued.

Because finally, we're together.

I felt like I was on cloud nine, walking around the house with a grin planted on my face. It carried over into the school week, and when Fiona and I went to her house to work on a project for Merchandising, she knew what was going on the second she saw me.

"So it's _official_?" she asked, giggling. I shrugged, pulling into her driveway. I'd recounted the entire evening to her, interrupted by the occasional _awe_ and _omg_.

"As official as you can get while still being secret. I mean, what do people do now? Make it Facebook Official?" She laughed, shrugging.

"Well since you don't have a Facebook, that'd be kind of hard."

"Maybe I can make one of those ones you guys use, the school ones. Facerange, right?" Fiona nodded.

"I'll help you set it up. But this, Ms. Peterson, I believe deserves a bottle of champagne." And that, I couldn't argue with. I still don't understand how Fi is so happy all the time. On top of Finals next week, she's got this whole Bobby deposition coming up Monday. Separate, they're hard to handle. Together, I'm still wondering how she's not going completely crazy.

With exams coming up, I think we all need to distress. But the next thing on my plate wasn't me distressing. It was dealing with Adam. Because on Tuesday, Fitz called me at 11:30 PM to tell me that he had signed up for fight club. Adam. Adam Torres. No taller than me, wouldn't hurt a fly Adam.

"Well you're not going to set him up with like, Tyler, right?" Fitz's laughter on the other end was slightly encouraging.

"_Hell_ no. I don't want Adam to _die_. I'll find someone though, don't worry. At least he's getting involved." I was encouraged, then. But somehow, I get the feeling this is not going to end well.

_December 14, 2010_

_6:45 PM_

_Location: Home_

_Feeling-know it all._

Fitz had set Adam up with a sparring partner, alright. He'd set Adam up with _Bianca._ A girl. A girl that had dissed Adam in front of everyone AND revealed to most of the school at he was a Trans. The fuck, right?

"I know you're friends with him, Hols, but what the _fuck_?" Adam practically screamed as he paced back and forth in my downstairs living room, while I sat on the couch, listening like a good friend.

"I just think he was trying to keep you from getting damaged," I defended Fitz, even though on the inside, I kind of wanted to slap him. One week of perfectness and our first fight as a couple was looming around the corner.

"_Damaged_?" Adam asked, sounding hurt. "So you don't think I could have taken on someone else? Someone more male?" My eyes widened, and I shook my head, hands flailing in refusal.

"No, no, that's not what I meant. But he's not gonna set you up with like, Tyler or Owen. It's not a fair fight." And everything I said after that dug me deeper and deeper into my hole. After while, I just shut up and let him fume.

With Adam drama came Fiona drama. Her deposition is tomorrow and honestly, I think Holly J and I are just as freaked out as she is. Why she didn't have it rescheduled till next week, I'll never know.

_December 15, 2010_

_11:50 AM_

_Location: Study Hall_

_Feeling-like a bad friend._

I didn't know. I can't believe I couldn't tell. Fiona is an alcoholic. Straight up, drunk at school, alcoholic.

That' show she's been getting through all this. She's been hiding champagne in her water bottle. She got through the deposition this morning, but apparently she was intoxicated for that too. It wasn't until Holly J pointed out the lack of champagne eyes that I even knew anything about it. Because when Mrs. Coyne and Declan came in, fuming, Holly J took the time after they'd left to fill me in on what in God's name was going on.

I just feel so horrible about everything. And, to top it off, my boyfriend just got punched by my best friend (yes, I giggled while typing _boyfriend_). And not in a "hey buddy" way.

I was standing in the hall with Fiona and Holly J when I heard Eli say "Still your super awesome bff?" I turned, confused as to when Eli had turned into a valley girl, only to see Adam walk up to Fitz and punch him in the stomach. Fitz keeled over, and Eli walked up to Adam, grabbing him. "Let's go, Rocky, before a teacher comes. I ran up to them, taking Adam's hand and trying to pull him away.

"Say your prayers freak," Fitz sputtered from the ground. "I'm finding your ass after school!"

"Yeah, do it!" Adam lunged towards Fitz again, and both Eli and I held him back.

"Adam, lets go," Eli said, and he tore his hands away from both of us, looking at Eli.

"I fight my own battles." He started to storm off.

"Yeah, and this is how you do it? Ambushing someone in the middle of the freaking hall?" I look down at Fitz, and then up to Eli. "God, all of you are pathetic." And at that moment, I really felt like it too. I hadn't talked to Fitz since Adam had come over, avoiding his texts and attempts to talk during passing period. It had honestly pissed me off that he'd thought for even a second that pairing Bianca and Adam up was a good idea.

It took me a whole two minutes to find Clare. I _was _unbelievably pissed off about Fitz, but there was no way in _hell_ I was letting the two of them get into it after school.

"Long time no see," she said sarcastically as I walked up to her locker. Ouch. I hadn't seen this side of Clare-snarky and pissed off.

"Listen, I know you're pissed off at me for the whole split up thing, but we don't have time to work that out right now. We've got trouble." She looked at me, concerned, and I felt her coldness melt away.

"What's going on?"

"To make a long story extremely short, Adam and Fitz are going to fight after school." Clare's eyes widened in horror.

"But, they can't! Fitz would-

"I know, I know. We have to do something to stop it." We found Eli, and walked together to the weight room where we made a feeble attempt at talking Adam out of it. It didn't work, of course.

"For once you have no sneaky plan up your sleeve?" Clare asked once Adam left, and Eli just walked out. "We have to do something," she started. "But not directly. It's not like we can stand between them and stop it. Us being there won't change a thing." And that's when it hit me. I don't know where it came from-maybe just the idea of the fight brought up a memory.

"You saw Long Lost, right?" She gave me a confused look, but nodded. "Just go with me for a second. Okay, so Josh Hutcherson's character, right, he was going to fight Logan's, but what did Emma Roberts do?"

"She had you create a distraction-that stink bomb, right? -that led the entire group outside, so they couldn't fight without getting in trouble with their parents." Suddenly, her eyes lit up, and she gave me a sly grin. "Do you think it would actually work?"

"It's worth a try," I said, shrugging, and then followed her to the Chem lab, where we worked for the rest of the break. And I think things are fixed with us. No longer a rift, I guess.

It went perfectly, if I do say so myself. I was in my French II final when it happened. In the middle of a question, I heard the ball rolling across the floor, and then smoke coming up from right next to Alli's desk. It smelled horrible, just the way we planned.

"What the hell?" Alli called, jumping out of her chair as Perino, who was proctoring the exams, ushered everyone out. When we got outside, I saw Fitz sitting on the hood of his car, next to Tyler and Owen, crouched over.

"Hollie!" Clare yelled from across the street, and I met up with her and Eli and Adam.

"What happened?" Adam asked, and Clare and I looked at each other.

"Someone set off a stink bomb," Clare explained. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Adam said, smiling. "I got a few kicks and knees in before everyone came out." And that would be when I saw Holly J struggling to support Fiona as they trudged across the parking lot. I waved off my three friends and went to help another two, who were met by Declan near the car. He shook his head at his sister, and then helped load her into the front seat.

"What happened?" I asked, and he looked at me, obviously frustrated.

"She fell asleep during her exam."

"She was drunk," Holly J further explained, and Declan threw her a glare. "What, it's the truth." She pulled a paper out of her pocket and handed it to Declan. "I got this out of the trash. Go fill it." She looked at me. "We'll meet you at the house." I went with her and Fiona back to the Coynes, loading Fiona into the house with as much ease and grace possible when supporting 120 pounds of dead weight.

"This needs to get fixed," Mrs. Coyne said, leaning against the kitchen counter and rubbing her temples. I glanced at the TV, a still shot of Bobby's smug face still on screen.

"Maybe the best way is to make her realize what's at stake," I said, pointing at the TV. "She's never going to feel good about herself if she just lets him get away with it."

"I think that's a step in the right direction," she said, and I nodded in agreement. A step in the right direction was all we needed.


	11. December 17, 2010, 8:47 AM

**I've said it before and I'll say it again...hunker down with some popcorn and a drink. It's gonna be a long chapter!**

_December 17, 2010_

_8:47 AM_

_Location: School_

_Feeling-ready for finals to be OVER._

Riley got recruited! Like full ride, going to college recruited for Northwestern.

And, to make matters better, he and Zane are now an official couple. Holding hands in the hallways, kissing on the lips in front of everyone. It is, if I do say so myself, the most adorable thing ever.

Fiona leaves today for New York. Seniors are exempt for most of their exams so, when she said she was catching a 2 oclock flight, I wasn't that surprised. I met up with Adam when I finally made it to school, and he was still pondering Wednesday's events.

"That stinkbomb totally saved my ass," Adam said with a painfull shrug at his locker. I nodded.

"Sure as hell did."

"I still can't figure out who set it off though! Whoever did, I owe them my life!" I smiled to myself, and then glanced over at the library, where I could clearly see Clare hiding from Mr. Simpson. I watched as Eli came around the corner of the bookcase, said something, and she jumped about a foot in the air. They talked for a minute, and Adam started putting things in his locker. "But, I mean, seriously. Eli was getting wailed on too."

"Uh huh." I spoke without thinking, and saw Mr. Simpson take a few steps forward. Eli, Clare trailing behind him looking like she was about to wet herself, walked up to him. And then I saw him say it. And I thank god that I can read lips for this. I watched him say _I think you should question Mark Fitzgerald and Tyler Mayfield about the stink bomb_. I felt my eyes widen, and I turned towards the locker as Mr. Simpson leaned forward, obviously intrigued. My heart dropped. It's true, I'm still kind of mad at Fitz. But he's my boyfriend, and I care about him. And I certainly don't want him in _more_ trouble because of something Clare and I did.

"Hollie, you okay?" Adam slammed his locker shut, and I turned back towards him, remembering he was with me.

"Oh yeah. Fine. I just…" I looked around, trying to find any angle that would give me a better view of what was going on. "I need a drink of water!" I said it a little too enthusiastically, but I still managed to convince him, and the water fountains had a good view through the door of the library. I sped walk towards it, and then, after grabbing a quick drink, I looked back up again to see Simpson walking away, and Clare and Eli exchanging sarcastic words. I looked at Clare, and saw her mouth _Well what'd you have in mind?_

"Hey, look! It's Clare and-

And then it happened. Like no one was around, Eli leaned forward and pulled Clare's lips towards his in a long, somewhat passionate kiss. Adam, next to me, gasped, and I let out a surprised laugh, covering my mouth and looking at Adam. He looked just as surprised as I felt. A few seconds later, Eli walked out, and the warning bell rang for next study period.

"Hey Hollie! French study time?" I looked back at Adam, and we both broke into fits of giggles.

An hour later, Eli and I sat in the quiet French room, looking over our books, but I wasn't really studying.

"What did you say after?" I asked impatiently. I'd been interrogating him about his quite passionate interlude with Clare earlier in the Library, and he rolled his eyes again.

"Nothing!"

"I saw you say something!"

"Creeper!" he said with a laugh. "Seriously, it was nothing. I just said I had a French exam!"

"And what did she say?" He was quiet for a minute, and then smirked.

"_I think you just passed it_." I laughed pretty loudly, and covered my mouth again, trying not to disturb the other people studying.

"She did _not_."

"She did! I swear!" He shakes his head. "I think you're becoming a bad influence on our innocent little Clare."

"And I'm damn proud of it, too!"

_10:15 AM_

As soon as I was finished with my French exam, I ran downstairs to catch up with Fiona before she left for New York. She'd texted me this morning, said she'd been exempt from her last bit of exams, and was heading out early for break with her mother. Holly J and I were just plugging in the neon signs when she walked in, fully prepared for her vacation.

"Viva Las Vegas!" Holly J said, going up to the counter. Fiona smiled.

"Guess I shouldn't have left my sunglasses in my suitcase," she said. I shook my head.

"I've got some right here!" I reached under the counter, and pulled out a pair of large, comedy sunglasses that Sav had hidden under there for later in the night. Holly J and Fiona both gave me a weird look, and as I put them back with a smile, I glanced at Fiona's face. "Looks like you won't be needing them to hide any champagne eyes!"

"I got through my deposition sober, I can get through anything."

"And those anti-anxiety meds?" Holly J asked, leaning over.

"Are in my purse if I need them," Fiona replied, pulling her bag further up on her shoulder. "My plane back to New York leaves soon, so if the judge is satisfied, the defendant requests some goodbye hugs?" I let out a laugh, but the two of us went around the corner, and Fiona pulled us into a big group hug.

"Why can't you take Declan with you, Fi?" I asked with a sigh. "He's going to make me dance with him all. freaking. night." I gave a glance at Holly J, and she laughed. In the weeks since the bachelor auction, Declan had been pestering me to be his date to the winter dance. Luckily, Adam had saved me by asking me to be his date. But Declan had made me promise to save him a dance.

"He never misses a good party," Fiona said with a shrug. "And if he starts harassing you, just shove him towards the woman he _should_ be with." She gave a pointed look at the red head next to me, and we all roll our eyes.

"I can't believe you're missing Vegas Night!" Holly J said, and the two have a small talk that includes Fiona giving her a bag, from which she pulls out the dark red cabaret costume that she wore to the NYU A Night in Vegas party. At one point, the two look at me as if saying they don't want me in the conversation, and I put my hands up in defense, turning around and busying myself straightening a set of streamers.

"Before I go…" Fiona pulled me back into the conversation, and gives me another look. "I wanted to talk to you about this Fitz business." I gave her a stressed look, and glanced at Holly J.

"Oh, come on, Hollie," Holly J said with a laugh. "Fiona's my best friend. You think she didn't tell me about you and Fitz?" I rolled my eyes and thought for a minute. Holly J knowing wouldn't be such a bad thing. In fact, it would probably be something good. Another girl to talk about it with.

"I really think you should be careful." Fiona leans against the counter. "When I came in earlier to talk to Simpson about last week, Fitz was being pulled into the office with that loser friend of his, Tyler. I think they were questioning them about the stink bomb." My eyes widened, and I slapped my hand to my forehead. I couldn't believe Simpson had already pulled him in. I hadn't even had a chance to warn him that someone might have told Simpson that.

"Yeah," I said with a head shake. "I figured that would happen. I saw some people talking about it in the library this morning." I looked at Fiona. "Don't worry. Fitz doesn't have anything to do with it." I paused. "Well, much."

_11:30 AM_

After saying goodbye to Fi, I met up with Alli and Jenna by their lockers, and talked about our collective Fashion Merchandizing exam coming up the next period. Alli started blubbering about running into Mrs. Torres, Drew and Adam's mom, and I expressed my sympathies-she could be a bitch at times. And then, suddenly, there was a bang from behind us. I turned around just in time to see Fitz get extremely close to Eli, Tyler standing on the sidelines, watching with a smirk on his face.

"Just spent an hour in Simpson's office. Someone told him we set off the stink bomb."

"Me and my loose lips." Before Eli could even finish talking, Fitz pulled him into a headlock.

"Not so lippy now are ya? What's a guy gotta do to get you out of his grill?" I literally threw my stuff on the ground, and ran towards them, trying not to slip on my ballet flats, and put one hand on Eli's back, the other on Fitz's chest, trying to pry them apart. "What're you…?" Fitz gave me a look, and we both looked over to see a teacher coming down the hall. Without hesitation, Fitz let go. "This isn't over," he said, looking at Eli, and then he walked away, glancing at me over his shoulder, Tyler trailing behind him. Clare walked up, looking concerned.

"Dude's a menace," Eli said with a disgusted look at the two of us. "Someone needs to teach him a lesson."

"_Eli_," I chastised.

"Because that worked so well last time." Clare gave Eli an exasperated look. "Can't you two just kiss and make up?"

"He's not really my type," Eli said with a laugh. I gave them both a disgusted look, and the mental picture of Eli and Fitz kissing, I think, will now permanently be engrained in my head.

"I'm serious, Eli." Clare's voice sounded just as motherly as mine does.

"So am I," I second.

"Someone is gonna get hurt!" Clare watched Eli grab something from his locker and close it.

"The only way to avoid a bully is to keep him scared."

"Or," I started.

"_Or_," Clare seconded. "You could lay low with your girlfriend?" After a second, Eli replied.

"Twist my rubber arm, girlfriend."

"Awwww." I looked at the two in admiration just as the bell rang, and Clare grabbed Eli's hand, twisting it over her shoulder. I immediately felt like a third wheel, but I could honestly care less.

THEY'RE FINALLY TOGETHER!

_1:50 PM_

After our Algebra II exam, Clare and I went straight to buy our tickets to the dance-the four of us had agreed that if the girls bought the tickets, the boys would spring for dinner at Chez Moi, the fancy French restaurant in town, afterwards. Of course, after telling Fitz, he'd begged me not to agree to go, so we could have some time together after, but I said I'd save some room for a midnight pig out (and/or makeout) session.

As we gave Brody, the guy behind the counter our money, and said four, someone came up behind us.

"Four tickets?" We both turned to see Fitz, standing with Tyler. Fitz looked at Clare. "Quite a gamble. That boy of yours might not make it to Vegas night."

"Hurting Eli won't solve anything, Fitz," I said, crossing my arms.

"Dude set us up," Tyler said with a snarl.

"Because he was trying to protect me," Clare said lightly, and we followed them away from the table.

"_Us_," I corrected.

"I set up that diversion to stop you from fighting Adam."

"With _my_ help." I leaned closer to her.

"You're digging yourself a grave," Clare said in a high voice.

"This is good to know," Tyler said. The two of them started to walk away.

"So, you'll leave Eli alone?" I watched Clare go up to Fitz. "I'll come clean to Simpson-I'll tell him you weren't responsible. Anything."

"Anything?" Fitz smirked, and a little red flag in the back of my mind popped up. I knew something was going on the second he said it. Clare glanced at me, and then back at Fitz with a confused look.

"That doesn't involve breaking a commandment…"

"You two got plans for tonight?" He looked between us, and then at Tyler.

"Uh, kinda, yeah," I said with an eyebrow raise. Fitz knew full well my plans with Adam.

"Break 'em. Fitzy and Ty need dates to Vegas night." Clare and I both managed to look at each other at the same time, the same wide eyes on our face. I turned back and gave Fitz an exhasperated look over Clare's shoulder. Something between _are you kidding me_ and _what the fuck_. "Or I put your little boyfriend in the hospital." He looked straight at Clare, but I know he saw the glare I was giving him.

"Why me?" I ask, crossing my arms. "What do I have to do with this?"

"Can't leave my man Tyler without a date, now can I?" Fitz swung his arm around Tyler's shoulder. "We couldn't find him a good enough girl."

"Awh," I started, fake pouting. "Poor Shrek couldn't find anyone stupid enough to play Fiona?"

"Watch it," Tyler snarled. I saw Clare let out a laugh next to me, and even though he was trying to keep a straight face, I saw Fitz's mouth turn up at the sides a bit.

"If we go with you," Clare started, "You'll leave Eli _and_ Adam alone?"

"As long as they stay out of our faces," Fitz said with a headshake.

"Take it or leave it, ladies." Tyler grinned at me as he spoke, and I felt a wave of nausea in my stomach.

"Okay." I barely heard Clare, but she said it. She said _okay_.

Okay to ME going to the dance with TYLER. At least I know that Fitz won't try anything with her. I can't say the same for Tyler. And as the two of them walked away, I turned back to her and gave her a death glare.

"What the hell was that?" I asked as she flipped her tickets in her hands.

"I don't know." She looked down. "Maybe it'll end this stupid feud. Maybe then Fitz and Tyler will finally see that Eli and Adam are good people. After everyone stops messing with each other."

I couldn't argue with that.

_3:55 PM_

Adam practically flew off the handle upon finding out about our evening plans.

"I can't believe it. How could you date those bastards?" he said as the three of us, Clare, he and I, sat against our lockers, waiting for Eli to get out of his last exam.

"It's one date," Clare started. "To a school sanctioned event."

"Yeah, I'm sure Eli snapped a gasket." Clare and I looked at each other, and then back at Adam as she let out a deep breath. "Wait, you haven't told him yet?" He looked like he was about to flip again.

"We will," I said.

"As soon as he's out of his history exam. We're doing this for you guys. I'm doing this for him," she said, shaking her head. "For us. He'll understand."

"And ignore that the girl he likes and one of his best friends are going to Vegas Night with his nemeses'?" He shook his head too. "Yeah, sounds just like him." I crossed my arms and leaned against my locker, wanting to scream out to the world what was so wrong with this whole situation. And then, I saw a pair of dark army boots walking up to us.

"Okay," Eli said, "please tell me an ostrich started World War I." Clare and I looked at each other again, and she bit her lip. "Spit it out, Edwards, Peterson."

"Well, you know," she stuttered out, closing her book. "It's funny that you should mention World War I." She stood up clumsily. "Because, well, many say that the-the revenge en-enacted by the United Nations on Germany post-war was responsible for the outbreak of World War II." Way to ramble, Edwards.

"What is she talking about?" He looked at Adam, and then at me.

"Clare and Hollie are going to Vegas Night with Fitz and Tyler."

"_Adam_!" Clare and I spoke at the same time, giving him the same dirty glare.

"What the fuck?" I said after we looked at each other. Eli's eyes widened.

"It's better to rip the bandage off," Adam said, and then, like the bloody _coward _he is, he walked away. Just freaking walked away. Leaving me in the most awkward situation EVER. Eli let out a sarcastic laugh and looked at us.

"I'm waiting for the punch line." Clare squirmed under his gaze.

"Fitz and Tyler promised to leave you alone if we went to Vegas Night with them," she said, wringing her hands.

"And you said _yes_?"

"We want this stupid feud to be over," I said, finally standing up with the aid of the locker behind me.

"And if we go with them tonight, it might actually happen."

"I suppose crazier things have happened." Clare glanced back at me, somewhat surprised by Eli's reaction.

"So you're not mad?"

"Just a little bit," he said, leaning forward. Eli's sudden change in demeanor scared me a _little bit. _I was kind of expecting a tantrum. Rage. Something. But for him to be this fine with it…something was up.

"Good." Clare tilted her head and smiled, and I immediately felt awkward invading what looked to be a private moment between a couple.

"And I'll be leaving now," I said, leaning over and picking up my backpack.

"Wait!" Clare grabbed my arm. "We have an hour before we pick up Alli and Jenna," she said, looking between us. "You guys wanna find Adam, and we can all go grab coffee?"

"Rain check?" Eli tilted his head like Clare had, and she nodded, giving him a sad smile.

"Sure." He walked away, and Clare and I looked at each other, a smile spreading across our faces. "That went better than expected."

"Yeah…" And I didn't tell her what was festering in the back of my mind. "Listen, I gotta go to the restroom, and then pick up some DECA stuff from Ms. Andrews. Be at my car in ten?" She nodded, and I grabbed the rest of my stuff, heading to the bathroom around the corner. When I came out, I went down the hallway, looked to my left, and watched as Eli and Fitz talked in what looked to be heated words. Without thinking, I went towards the door and opened it just in time to hear Fitz speak.

"But don't you worry," he said, looking straight at Eli. "When we have sex, I'll be gentle." My eyes widened just as Fitz looked over Eli's shoulder and saw me standing there. Something flashed in his eyes-what looked like embarrassment, maybe, and then he turned and walked away with his friends. Eli, too stunned or bothered to speak, leaned back against the railing on the side of the door, and I put my hand on his shoulder for a split second before looking at Fitz and his retreating gang. When Fitz glanced back and saw me still standing there, he and his posse turned around, looking at us. And I did the first think I could think of.

I flipped him off.

_7:45 PM_

Getting ready for the dance was exactly what I needed. Girl time. And I got to practice my stylist skills. I helped Jenna, Clare and Alli get ready, even before I did my own stuff. We got ready in the master bathroom, which had way more mirror and counter space than mine. My mom, who was chaperoning the dance with Mrs. Torres (my argument, which was actually as true as possible, to Alli, Jenna and Fitz was that she, being a Hollywood mom, would be a lot cooler with a LOT more stuff than most moms-the only thing she'd be preventing was any violence or cheating during the gambling bit of the night) was already ready, and was perched in the living room going over files for my dad before he came up for Christmas. Alli was in a hot pink bustier number, so I left parts of her hair hanging in her face and pulled the top into a big, fluffy ponytail with a tiara she brought from home. Clare was planning on wearing this God awful polka dot number that looked like something a sixth grader would wear on picture day. I forced her to go through my dresses until she found something that she was comfortable in, but didn't look like she'd escaped from a convent. She finally settled on a dark green tank dress in a satin fabric, that looked kind of like Alli's, but a little less ruched and pulled up. I let her do her hair like usual (much to my own dismay), and handed her a blue and green peacock headband that matched the dress.

At first I was confused as to why Jenna was there, but Clare explained that after KC had dumped her, much like he had Clare, they'd kind of bonded. So I put my questioning glances to the side and pulled her hair into a messy bun, which made her shoulders (and boobs) look great in her spaghetti strap dress. You could hardly tell she was pregnant.

I was the last of us to get ready. My dress was something I'd had for a while, and brought to Toronto on a last minute decision. It was short and spaghetti strapped but the cut on the top was high enough to where I looked more like Taylor Swift than a prostitute. The entire thing was covered in gold sequins that I found extremely appropriate for Vegas Night. Paired with black platform heels, a black boa, huge, wavy hair and smoky makeup, I was going to make Fitz extremely pissed off that he let Tyler take me.

I'd berated him about saying the sex thing, and he said he wouldn't have said that had Eli not blamed the stink bomb on them and almost gotten them suspended. Over the phone, he'd apologized for fucking things up with Adam, and I thanked him, but reminded him that it wasn't me he needed to apologize to. I texted him as we got ready, and he would not give me one freaking hint as to what he was wearing. Not that I gave him any idea what I was wearing.

_Please? Just tell me what color tie you're wearing. ANYTHING._

_Nope. :) You'll have to see when you get there! Are you guys taking your car?_

_Yeah. Jenna's meeting Anya at the dance and hanging with her, Alli's with Drew, and then I guess Clare and I are with you guys all night. :/_

Alli was putting on her gloves, talking about break. "Finally. Two weeks, no school. Just rest, relaxation." Jenna interrupted her.

_Come on. It won't be that bad._

"And sneaking out of your bedroom to go on romantic dates with Drew." Alli and I laughed, and I put on another coat of Chapstick., typing on my phone.

_Says the guy who's going with his girlfriend's bestfriend._

"Could life be any more perfect?" Alli's voice sounded dreamy, and in my head, I was screaming; _YES_, my head yelled.

My friends could NOT hate my boyfriend, I could be going to the dance with HIM, and, oh yeah, I could also not be part of this elaborate scheme to cover up the fact that we got two finals rescheduled inadvertently by setting off a stink bomb, which got blamed on MY BOYFRIEND. THAT NO ONE KNOWS ABOUT.

"Depends," Jenna started, looking in the mirror. "How pregnant do I look?" Alli and I exchanged a glance, and I grabbed a white boa I bought at the craft store last night.

"It's nothing this boa can't hide," I said, walking up and putting it over Jenna's shoulders. "Distraction is the biggest part of perfection." My phone buzzed again.

_You're the one who wanted to be as UNOBVIOUS as possible. Sorry for playing by YOUR rules._

_You know that's only for-_

I stopped mid reply. This was getting heated, and I hate fighting over the phone.

_I'm sorry. I'll talk to you later tonight.3_

"It's so unfair," she responded, pulling the ends of the boa over her stomach. "KC helped me make this baby, and I'm stuck dealing with it." Alli walked up next to us and smiled.

"Don't worry. Once you win Next Teen Star, you'll be able to take care of the baby without him." Clare came out of my mothers room in her dress, and both Jenna and Alli looked astonished.

"No more convent!" Jenna cried, running to hug Clare. She let out an uncomfortable laugh.

"I don't want to give Fitz the wrong idea about tonight," she said, crossing her arms. I reached out and uncrossed them.

"He won't!" I said with a laugh. "Don't worry! I had a little chat with him after school, and he's fully aware that if either of them pull a move, my Louboutin's are going to leave a more permanent mark this time." I lifted my foot. "Like maybe a fracture." All three of them laughed.

"Okay, help me out here," Jenna said, looking confused. She pointed to Clare. "I thought you liked Eli." And then gestured to me. "And who are you going with?"

"Tyler Mayfield," I replied with a snarl. Jenna made a face back.

"Ew, why?" I let out a laugh and looked to Clare for help.

"I do like Eli," she explained, leaning against the counter. I smiled at the words.

"But you're going to Vegas night with Fitz?" Clare threw me a helpless look, and I put my hands up, leaning next to her on the vanity.

"Hey, you're the one that got us into this mess." She glared at me, and then looked down, like she was trying to figure out what to say.

"Fitz damaged Eli's car, so Eli tricked Fitz into getting arrested."

"Then he hit on me," I cut in, "so Eli and Adam pantsed him in the hallway."

"Then Fitz and Tyler tried to fight Adam," Clare continued, "so I set off the stinkbomb-

"_We_ set off the stinkbomb. It was my idea too."

"So _we _set off the stinkbomb." She rolled her eyes. "Which he and Tyler got blamed for."

"So to stop them from fighting slash killing Eli or Adam, Clare volunteered us to go to the dance with them."

"Volunteered isn't really the right word," Clare said with an eyeroll.

"What would you have preferred?" I crossed my arms. "Signed up?_ Offered on a silver platter_?"

"Is it clearer?" Clare ignored my last comment (probably a good thing), and Jenna gave us a look that clearly said she thought we were off our rockers.

"Crystal," she said with a laugh.

"Uhm, question," Alli said, her eyes widening. "When did your life become West Side Story?"

"When I became a part of it." I laughed and slung my arm around Clare's shoulder. She grinned.

"We just need to get through tonight, then maybe Eli and I can go on a real date." She paused. "If he's over his dead ex girlfriend." Obviously, Clare had failed to mention Julia to either of them before, because both of them gave us looks again that made me feel like I should be admitted into a psych ward. My phone went off a second later.

_Come downstairs. ;)_

My eyes widened at Fitz's message. "Uh, guys. I'll be back in a second. I just have go to grab…" I looked around, trying to think of something I was missing. "A purse." And with that, I ran (yes, _ran_, in pumps no less-the things you learn to do in an action/romance movie) downstairs. Sure enough, Fitz was sitting on the couch, the window by the kitchenette sitting wide open. I gasped when I saw him. He looked…great. In black slouchy skinny jeans, a black tee, black blazer and black skater (ish) shoes, he almost looked like Eli. His reaction when he saw me was _priceless_. Dropped jaw, wide eyes, the whole bit.

"What're you trying to do?" he asked, pulling me towards him. "Encourage Tyler to try something?" I laughed and put my hands on his chest, and he wrapped his arms around my waist. The doorbell rang up above us, and I heard Eli talking through the window and the open door. He asked where I was, and when Clare said I was downstairs, there were two sets of footsteps leaving the house, and the front door closed.

"The plan was to make you jealous-you are, after all, the one forcing me to go with him."

"I'm not forcing you to do anything!" he said a little bit loudly. My eyes widened and my hand moved to cover his mouth. He stuck out his tongue, and I laughed, making a face.

"Hush! The girls are upstairs-Eli and Clare are…" My eyes went wide again, and without saying anything, I separated from him and moved over to the kitchenette, kicking off my heels. Fitz had figured out what I was going to do, and helped me up onto the counter, following, and both of us stuck our heads out the window.

"What the hell is she wearing?" Fitz asked, his eyes glancing between Clare and Eli. I narrowed my eyes at him.

"_My _dress." He shut up.

"Don't be naïve," Eli said. They stood feet apart in front of Morty, and at this angle, I could just make out something in Eli's hand. "Fitz is a bad guy. He wants to have sex with you. And who knows what Tyler may try with Hollie." Without looking away, I slapped Fitz on the chest. He made a little guaff, and my hand covered his mouth. He shook against it, and stuck out his tongue again. Point taken.

"Oh, then you're right. The appropriate response is to poison them." Yeah. Seriously. That's what she said. Poison. Fitz and I both looked at each other, the same horrified look on our faces. When we turned back, Eli was talking again.

"I told you, this is how you control bullies; keep them scared."

"Do you know who also uses those tactics?" Clare asked, crossing her arms tighter.

"Terrorists," I muttered under my breath.

"Terrorists," Clare said. I smiled to myself. Great minds think alike! Eli laughed sarcastically.

"I don't understand-who's side are you on?"

"I'm not sure," Clare replied, looking down. "But I know it's not the side that poisons people." With that, Clare walked inside, leaving Eli standing by the car. I turned back around, and slid off the counter, picking my phone up and dialing it as quick as possible.

"What're you doing?" Fitz asked, climbing off the ledge and back onto the floor. I made a quiet sign with my hand, and a voice on the other end picked up.

"Adam, don't ask any questions, just listen and answer. You were with Eli after school today, right?"

"Yeah," he replied hesitantly.

"Did say he was going to do something to Fitz and Tyler at the dance tonight? Have Clare and I do something?"

"Hollie, I-

"Adam, I'm being completely serious. I was downstairs, and I just heard the backend of the conversation, and right now it sounds pretty bad. The only thing I heard was poison, Fitz and Tyler, and then a side debate between Eli and Clare."

"It's just ipecac, Hollie." I felt my eyes widen as I pulled the phone away from my ear and pressed the end button.

"Ipecac," I repeated, slumping against the counter. Fitz's eyes went as wide as mine.

"_Ipecac_? As in the syrup?" I nodded, my hand resting lightly on my forehead. "He wants to poison us with ipecac?"

"I think he wants _us_ to," I said, shaking my head. "Me and Clare. That's why he asked where I was."

"Well you're not going to, right?" I gave him my worst look that plainly said _no_, and he pressed. "To Tyler either?" I pursed my lips. I honestly wouldn't be completely objected to watching Tyler puke his guts out. But I shook my head no anyways, for the sake of my relationship. He smiled, and pulled me back to him as he leaned against the counter. I hadn't noticed that I was shaking until then. "Don't worry," he said, rubbing my back. "It's gonna be fine." I looked up at him, and then closed my eyes, leaning against his chest. We stood there, quiet for a minute. "You aren't still mad at me, are you? I'm asking that you go with Tyler to play by your rules. I don't agree with them, but I'm going by them for you." I smiled up at him, and then leaned back, closing my eyes again.

"I know. And no, I'm not mad. I just wish you would have consulted me before-

"**Hollie?**" Clare's voice called from upstairs, and my eyes flew open. I shoved away from Fitz, and pushed him against the back wall of the kitchenette.

"Hide!" I whisper-screamed, and then grabbed my shoes and ran towards my bedroom. Just as Clare finished descending the stares, I was walking out of the room with my black sparkly clutch, my shoes back on. "Oh, hey. Was that Eli at the door?"

_8:52 PM_

The four of us rode together in my car. My mom drove behind us, and we all parked separate, walking in at different times. As we walked out the door to my house, I'd gotten the _Fuck, did I leave my keys at your house? _text that came every once in a while. If he walked over, he often brought his keys and accidentally left them on my counter or bedside table. But two minutes later, I got a _Nevermind, found them in my inside pocket_. It took us all of five minutes to get to school, with my driving barefoot since Louboutins are a bit hard to operate in a car. As the three of us walked into school, my phone buzzed.

_We're here- my locker._

"They're here," I said as we walked in. Drew was waiting for Alli at the benches, and the two of them walked away as Clare gave me a look. My mother walked in behind us, and greeted Mrs. Torres at the door.

"How do you know?" I lifted up my phone. "Why do they have your number?" I momentarily panicked at my second of stupidity.

"Fitz does-from when we all worked on that project, remember?" She flashed recognition, and then nodded.

"Oh, yeah, okay." She looked around. "I guess we should go find them?" I nodded back.

"Do you want me to go with you?" Jenna asked quietly, and looked at the door to the dance. I took pity on her.

"It's fine, doll. Just go find Anya and Chantay." She flashed us a pearly smile, and then turned around with a quiet "good luck!" Clare and I listened to the bustle going on inside the gym as we walked down the hallway.

"Welcome to A Night in Vegas, where, with a little bit of luck, anything could happen!" Holly J's voice was still audible in the dark hallways with the lockers, and as we rounded the corner I spotted Fitz and Tyler standing by Fitz's open locker. They seemed to be in an animate conversation, and didn't notice as Clare and I walked up, giving one final pleading glance at each other.

"Are those corsages for us?" Clare asked, and Fitz was the first to break out of their conversation, looking at us in surprise.

"Uh, yeah," he started, and his eye did this cute little twitch thing. I grinned as Tyler held one out to me. "My mom made us bring them…she got them this afternoon when she found out we had dates." I laughed and slid mine on as Clare took hers from Fitz.

"I like it, but I'm not going to have sex with you." Fitz and Tyler's eyes both widened, and I bit my lip to keep from laughing at their faces.

"Whoa!" Fitz said, his face scrunching up. "Where did that come from?"

"I know what you told Eli," she said with a shrug. I leaned over to Tyler, but I spoke loud enough to where the others could hear.

"You 'aint gettin any either, buddy." I crossed my arms, and both Fitz and Clare laughed. Tyler looked genuinely disappointed.

"Clare," Fitz started, glancing at me. "In theory, all guys want to hook up with a cute girl like you. It's like Chemistry." He gave me a smile.

"Biology," Clare corrected, and I couldn't help but laugh. I think I knew where he was going with that one, but we were the only two that got it.

"Whatever," he said with a smile. "I wouldn't try anything on you. Unless you want me to…" He looked at me again, and my eyes went wide with mock horror. I was still trying not to crack up.

"In theory," Clare started.

"Not a chance." I gave Fitz a rueful smile as I spoke, and Clare gave me a playful one as she tucked a curl behind her ear. Fitz laughed, flexing his jaw in the most adorable way possible.

"Betcha Eli overeacted," Tyler said, punching Fitz lightly in the arm. I threw him a slight glare for joking about all of this. If only he knew what we were doing to keep him from spilling his literal guts all over the casino floor. Clare gave me a half ass version of the conversation she'd had with Eli earlier, and I faked horror, like I hadn't already heard everything.

"Kinda." Clare shook her head.

"You have no idea." I rolled my eyes and shifted on my feet.

"Wouldn't it just be easier if you guys all got along?" Clare asked, looking up at both of them.

"One would think," Fitz said, "but the last time I tried to end this fued your little boyfriend got me arrested."

"Would an apology still work to end it?" Clare wrung her hands in front of her.

"Sure, but good luck getting it." Fitz closed his locker, locked it up, and then gestured for all of us to start walking down the hallway. "You two look great, since I haven't already mentioned." I got in line walking down the hallway between Clare and Tyler, with Fitz on the other side of Clare. I smiled at him as we walked.

"Yeah, totally smokin'." All three of us gave Tyler a look with raised eyebrows, and I rolled my eyes as his seemed to look ever bit of my body over. I fought a shiver. When we got to the door, Fitz rested his hand on Clare's upper arm, a sign that they were going together when they walked in. I watched as eyes widened, jaws dropped, and two boys at the Craps table glared maliciously at them. Tyler, of course, chose to not grab my arm, but instead my lower back. As we walked in and got the same reaction, I leaned into him and smiled as grittily as possible while talking.

"Your hand goes any lower and I cut it off." I immediately felt it move up to my waste, and we followed Clare and Fitz as they sat down at one of the Poker tables. Two tables away, I saw Adam moving to sit at a Blackjack table. I nudged Clare as I sat down, and gestured in the direction of the table. Bianca was playing there too, and Drew was talking to her. As Tyler got into the poker game next to me, Fitz, Clare and I watched as Alli walked up and started bitching at Bianca. A few short seconds later, Bianca stood up, saying something to Drew, and left the two of them bickering. Finally, Alli gave Drew a disgusted look and stormed away crying. Clare and I both glanced at each other, horrified by what was going on. Fitz leaned forward, his head between his hands.

"I can't believe she actually did it," he said, shaking his head. Both of us looked at him, interested.

"Did what?" Clare asked. Tyler, though somewhat absorbed by the Poker game, spoke.

"Bianca was talking about hooking up with Drew after our physics exam today." My eyes widened, and I looked back at Fitz. He nodded. "We didn't know if she'd actually do it or not."

"I guess she did," Fitz said with another head shake. Clare hopped off her stool and looked at him.

"Look, I'm really sorry, but Alli's one of my best friends and-

"It's fine," he said with a laugh. "I totally get it. Go. Just make sure you come back when she's okay." He winked at her in a playful, friendly way and she smiled, grabbing her bag off the counter and speed walking in the direction Alli had gone. When she was out of sight, I turned to Fitz.

"That was really nice."

"It's been known to happen," he said with a laugh. I shook my head, and turned back to watch Tyler play Poker. I suck at gambling, otherwise I would have been a part of the game. A few minutes later, the song changed, and I recognized it as something off the mix I gave Sav last week. Shark in the Water by VV Brown.

"I love this song," I said with a sigh, and opened up my purse, pulling out my Chapstick. I saw Fitz watching me out of the corner of my eyes.

"You wanna, um," he started, and gestured to the dance floor awkwardly. I laughed and hopped off the stool, asking Chantay, who was running the table, if I could ditch my purse and boa with her. She let me, and I turned back around, smiling, and followed Fitz to the small dance floor. Without hesitation, I started dancing to the beat, my foot tapping up and down as my hands went over my head. Fitz, despite the fact that he'd suggested it, stood relatively still, watching me with a blush.

"Oh, come on. You wanted to come out here!" I grabbed his arms and shook them back and forth trying to get him to move. "Why'd you suggest it if you don't wanna?" He leaned forward, grinning, and talked in my ear.

"Because I know you love to dance." Finally, he managed to get ahold of the beat of the next song, Toxic by BSpears, and I looked around for signs of Clare. I spotted her talking to Adam at a Craps table, and gave her a look to hurry up. Tyler came and joined us on the next song, and I pushed off his attempts to get closer to me on the dance floor. Once Clare got in the group again, I pulled her close and danced with her; I was more comfortable looking like a lesbian with my best friend than dancing with Tyler. That says something in and of itself. But despite my blantant ignoring of his come ons, Tyler did not take a hint. He kept moving closer and closer behind me, attempting to grind on me. I wanted to scream out at him, but kept myself from actually doing it. Fitz, however, also noticed, and kept coming around and dancing with me to keep him away. Had it not been so amusing, I probably would have stopped him for fear of people wondering what he was doing, but no one seemed to notice.

The last straw came when Low played. I was trying to teach Clare how to go low (we'd long since abandoned our heels on the side of the dance floor), and Tyler kept coming up behind me. When the last chorus came on, I felt his arm on my hip, and he tried to pull me back to him. Finally, I stood up, ripping away from him and into Fitz.

"What the fuck," I said, moving away from Fitz and towards Clare. "I told you, Tyler. Don't touch me." He rolled his eyes and moved towards me.

"Oh, come on, you know you wanna get cozy with me." My eyes widened, and I pressed into Clare's side.

"No, I don't." Fitz stepped forward, grabbing Tyler's arm.

"Ty, man, cut it out. She doesn't like you like that." Tyler shook his hand off and looked at him.

"And how would you know that?" He nodded his chin in my direction, an appraising look in his eyes. "She's just playing hard to get."

"No, she's not." Fitz grabbed his arm, and Tyler shook it off again, shoving Fitz out of the way with his hands.

"Back off, man." When he tried to step forward, Fitz sidestepped in front of him.

"Stay the hell away from me, asshole, and take a fucking hint." Tyler's eyes widened, and something in them changed. He looked…angry.

"What did you just say to me, you little bitch?" He started walking towards me again, and Fitz grabbed him one last time, trying to stop him. Tyler turned back around, and before anyone could do anything, he took a swing at Fitz's face. Fitz staggered back, clutching his nose, and suddenly a rush of adults came towards us, pulling Tyler back. I hadn't noticed till then how many people were watching-there was a small ring around us, large crowds on either side. My mother was one of the first adults in, and a strong, buff guy restrained Tyler.

"Hollie!" she cried, her hand on my shoulder. "Is everything okay?" I nodded silently.

"What happened here?" Mrs. Torres walked up, her arms crossed. "Clare?" she looked at the girl behind me, who slipped an arm through mine.

"Tyler was hitting on Hollie and she kept saying to stop. He wouldn't, so Fitz asked him to. Tyler was the one that got physical." Mrs. Torres looked at me.

"Is that true?" I nodded again, and she turned around. "Take him out." Two men escorted Tyler out, and he glanced back at us, a glare in his eyes. As soon as he was out of sight, I broke out of Clare and my mother's grasps and stepped towards Fitz, my hand reaching out and lifting his face with my hand under his chin.

"Are you okay?" He nodded, still holding his nose.

"I forgot how mean of a punch he throws," he said, and then moved his hand. Blood was trailing down his upped lip and into his mouth. My eyes widened. "What?" My mother stepped forward, pulling me back and going towards Fitz.

"Come on, we'll get you cleaned up, Mark." He gave her a confused glance. "You're bleeding?" His eyes widened and he looked at his hand for the first time-it was spattered with red. "Let's go." She ushered him out, and the crowd around us dispersed. My first instinct was to follow him; to make sure everything was okay. But I couldn't. I turned around, my hand moving to my forehead as Jenna rushed up, looking worried.

"What just happened?" she asked, her eyes wide.

"Tyler kept coming onto Hollie. Fitz tried to stop him and got punched in the face." Her eyes went even wider, and I covered my mouth and nose, shaking my head.

"I can't believe he just did that."

"Who? Fitz or Tyler?" Clare put a hand on my back. "Because right now, both of them are equally as shocking to me."

"Well, both, I guess." I looked around for any sign of my mother, and when I couldn't find them, I turned back to Clare and Jenna, eager to make any excuse to go check on Fitz. "Can we go to the bathroom?" I asked, taking a step back towards the door. "I kind of feel sick." Clare nodded, and followed me to the bathroom by our locker bank after grabbing our shoes from the side of the dance floor. I pulled my phone out as we walked, and sent a text to Fitz.

_Where are you? Are you okay?_

When we got into the bathroom, I stood in front of the mirrors, trying to catch my breath. That was the first time any guy had tried that in a long time. I looked down at what I was wearing, and sent a mental note to myself to never try to make Fitz jealous again. My phone buzzed on the counter.

_Nurses office. Your mom left me in here to get cleaned up._

"Uh, Guys," I started, heading towards the door. Both of them were still in stalls. "I'm gonna go get some water-maybe that'll help. I'll meet you back in the gym."

"Kay!" Jenna called, but I was already out the door. When I rounded the corner, Fitz was sitting alone in the semi dark, glass-surrounded nurses office, holding a tissue to his nose.

"Holy crap," I said as I walked in, immediately rushing to his side. "Are you okay?" He nodded, pulling the tissue away. No blood gushed out.

"I think so. It stopped bleeding." He threw it in the trash can, and jumped off the table, grabbing a few paper towels from the dispenser. "Better get cleaned up-I've gotta get back to my date." He gave me a sarcastic smile, and I took the tissues from his hand, pointing to the table.

"Sit back down," I said. He didn't argue, and I walked over to the sink, turning it on and getting the paper towels wet enough to wash the blood off. I turned back and went to him, kicking off my heels and hopping up onto the table next to him. I went to work cleaning.

"I shouldn't have let Tyler take you," he said quietly. He was looking at me the entire time, trying to make eye contact. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be." I set the first towel down beside me, and tried to clean up some of the blood that'd trickled down his chin. "I understand why you did it-you did it for me. So no one would suspect anything." I let out a sigh, moving one my hands to his face to hold it while I tried to get a spot off one bit of his chin.

"I just wish we didn't have to do that." There was no more blood on his face.

"I do too." I picked up his hand-the one he'd grabbed his nose with at first-and tried to get some of the blood out of the crevices. "But-

"But!" He laughed sarcastically. "I know, I know. _But_ your friends." He shook his head. "Your _friend_ Eli is the one that insists on keeping this going. I'd be fine and dandy if this entire thing just stopped. Hell, Eli seems like a pretty cool dude. And Adam and I have already established that we can be friends. He even knows how to throw a punch." I let out a laugh. "This whole thing is just a huge mess that needs to end."

"You're right," I said, jumping up and grabbing some antibacterial wipes from the counter, sitting back down. "It all does need to end. But that doesn't mean that you can handle-

"Doe, you know I can handle what comes with being in a relationship with you." I wiped his hand off with the wipes, and then picked up all the paper towels with one, wiping down the table. "All that stuff you were worried about-the paparazzi, the weirdos. I'm willing to deal with all of that." I moved to get off the table, but he stopped me, his eyes boring into my own. Despite the fact that I'd just spent five minutes cleaning blood off the guy, there was something ridiculously sexy about the way he looked in that blazer. So when he leaned forward, capturing my lips with his, I had no objections. I let go of the tissues in my hand, and his trailed up my arm, sending a shiver down my spine. I felt him smile into the kiss, and my hand moved to the back of his neck, the other resting on his arm, his finding its way into my hair. He pulled me closer to him, deepening the kiss, and then without any objections from me, leaned me back on the table. He wasn't pushing on me or anything, and despite the fact that the vinyl of the table was sticking to my back, I felt completely comfortable covered by Fitz. He pulled back and I opened my eyes, suddenly worried that I had a double chin in this position. But he grinned down at me, pushing a curl behind my ear, and I smiled back at him, my hand on his neck coming forward to stroke across his cheek.

And then I heard the footsteps. Just barely, but they were there. I sat up, not even thinking about the fact that our heads were inches apart. Our foreheads banged together with a painful _conk_, and we both grabbed them with our hands.

"Ow! What the hell-

"Shh! Someone's coming!" I stood up, still grasping my head, and walked over to the sink, pretending to busy myself with the dirty towels I'd grabbed off the table.

"I left him in here-Clare said she saw Hollie go this way too." It was Mrs. Torres' voice, I recognized that much. The door clicked open, and I turned to see her and Mr. Simpson standing in the doorway. "Ah, I was right."

"Ms. Peterson," Mr. Simpson started, looking extremely confused. "What are you doing in here?"

"Trying to get Mark cleaned up," I replied, rolling my eyes in the most nonchalant way possible. "I think his mother would kill both of us if he got blood on that blazer because of me."

"We're neighbors," Fitz explained to Simpson's confused look, and I realized I was babbling. We explained, in short, what'd happened with Tyler on the dance floor, and Simpson seemed to be relatively satiated.

"You can understand why I would have a hard time just believing you, Mark," he said with a pointed look at Fitz. "But Ms. Peterson here has a good track record, and her friends are all telling the same story." Simpson gave Fitz a clap on the shoulder. "But what you did was brave, and I'm glad you didn't fight back."

"There wasn't really much to fight about. We were right, he was wrong. He punched me. End of." I let out a little laugh at his explanation, and leaned against the counter next to the sink.

"Well, Tyler's been escorted from the building, and come Monday he'll be suspended, at least for a day or two. But just in case, a police officer has been asked to patrol around, just checking for things. For now, though, try to enjoy the dance." With a wave, he walked out, and Ms. Torres looked at the two of us, a small smug smile on her face. Sure, she loved me, but she hated Fitz. With good reason, too-he'd thrown one of her sons through a window and beaten the other one up. But then she turned and smiled at me, walking out, the door closing behind her. We were alone again, and the static in the air was practically tangible. I hopped up onto the counter, and could feel Fitz look at me from across the room, and heard him stand up. I studied my nails in my lap, picking at excess polish on my middle finger, until his hand covered mine, the other forcing my chin up, to look him in the eyes.

"What do _you_ want to do?" I opened my mouth to speak, my face in what I think was a consternate expression, so he cut me off. "No, what do you _want_ to do? What do you want, not what do you think would be the least drama or the best PR move." I pursed my lips, and his thumb stroked my cheek again. I felt myself melt in his touch, immediately breathing out heavily.

"I…" I closed my eyes for a split second, playing over everything in my head. He wanted to let people know. He wanted to tell everyone about us, that we were dating. "I don't know." Suddenly, he ripped away from me, angry.

"Don't say that!" he half screamed, throwing his arms up in exasperation and pacing a few steps away. "Don't say you don't know. Because everyone has their opinions. I know, you've spent the last fifteen years trying to hide your emotions from the public for fear of judgment, believe me, Hollie, I understand more than you think. But can't you tell everyone that you're happy? Can't you let your friends see that you're excited?" He looked back at me then, his eyes blazing.

"Fitz, do you think I want to keep this a secret?" I hopped off the counter walking up to him and poking him in the chest, like I had the first time I'd met him. "We've been over this time and time again. What else is there to do? If I were to tell Eli and Clare and Adam that I've been seeing you all this time, it would break them. Eli especially. Because not only have I been lying about dating someone, but I'm dating you. The reason this entire semester has been so batshit crazy for them. And until they see you the way I see you, the reason I like you so much, they won't accept you. They won't be okay with us."

"So what does that mean?" His eyes went dark, and he bit his lip. "What does that mean for us, Hollie? Because I'm pretty sure I just took a punch for you in there." He gestured to the door. "I took a punch because I was willing to protect you, in public, for all your friends to see. For all _my_ friends to see. Hell, it was my friend who punched me. So what's left to deal with? I'm pretty sure that's a good indicator that something is going on with us."

"I _don't know_!" I yelled, and I turned from Fitz, hot tears streaming at my eyes. "Fitz, I can't put you through that. I can barely stand putting Eli and Clare and Adam through the Paparazzo stuff. Fiona and I, we're used to it. But the three of them, they're not."

"And look how much they've got going on in their lives!" Fitz said, coming around to face me. "Clare's parents are fighting all the time. Eli has a dead ex girlfriend. And Adam has a hard enough time as it is. And yet, somehow, they're managing to deal with the drama that comes with you. So what makes you think that I can't?" I didn't know what else to say then, but in that moment, I knew what I had to do. And I think he knew what I was thinking, that I'd figured everything else out, because the next second, he was pushing me up against a wall, almost so forcefully that I fell against it, his lips pressing into mine. And that's all I wanted. Reassurance that no matter what we dealt with, no matter what hit us, we could get through it.

Fitz's hands slid up and down my sides, sending shivers down my spine while I grasped at the back of his neck. When standing wasn't an option for me anymore, his hands settled behind my thighs and he picked me up, my legs wrapping around him. He walked towards the counter I'd been sitting on and put me back down, hands roving, lips moving down my neck and assaulting my collarbone. I leaned back, giving him easier access, and all other thoughts fell out of my head. Thoughts of Clare and Eli, of Adam and Tyler, of my mother and Marcie and all the other people whose useless drama was filling up my brainspace, all dropped away. And the only thing I could think of at that moment was this stupidly adorable, amazing guy in front of me.

He hit my sweetspot a second later, and I felt myself buck against his hips, to which he responded with a growl into my neck, only fueling his fire as he pushed the strap of my dress down, and I bent my head over, letting a whimper out against his hair. My fingers clawed at his shoulders, our hips grinding together, the only sounds in the room being our heavy breathing and the low base of the music blasting from the gym. My hands found their way to his collar, and I shoved off his coat, bringing his head back up and nibbling at his lip as I pulled at the hem of his shirt. When he pulled it over his head, his muscles in both his arms and his abs flexing, I pondered over how lucky I was to have a both attractive and useful boyfriend, who knew exactly how to turn me on. Fitz grinned at the small smirk I'm sure was playing at my own lips, and pushed down the other side of my dress, revealing the black balconette bra I was wearing underneath, specifically because I figured he'd be seeing it by the end of the night. I traced the outline of his shoulders with my nails as he kissed my neck again, and felt his thighs tighten when I ran my hand down his chest.

_You show the lights that stop me turn to stone, you shine them when I'm alone. And so I-_

I felt Fitz freeze against my chest, his hand beneath the strap of my bra, and he let out a frustrated sigh. I smiled, running my hand through his hair and kissing his forehead before pushing him away and jumping up to answer my phone.

"Hollie?" Clare yelled over the music. "WHERE ARE YOU? DECLAN IS LOOKING FOR YOU. HE WANTS A DANCE." I rolled my eyes, looking back at Fitz as he located his shirt and slid it over his head. Part of me was extremely sad he had to hide that six pack of his all night.

"I'll be there in a minute," I said, pulling up the straps of my dress with one hand and using the mirror above the sink to adjust my sex hair. "I was just outside making a call to Sasha. Something about awards." Clare laughed on the other line, and then said to hurry up, ending the call. I turned back around, and Fitz was dressed again, his hair slightly mussed, lips and cheeks bright red.

"That was unexpected," he lamented with a laugh, and I smiled, sauntering up to him and letting him wrap his arms around me. "Unexpected, but good."

"Not good," I corrected. "Great." I looked up at him, and took a deep breath before I spoke. "I'll tell them. I'll tell them tonight, over dinner. I don't care what they do. Because I shouldn't have to hide this from everyone. You make me too happy to do that to either of us. I want to share it." And that seemed to make him incredibly, incredibly happy.

_11:29 PM_

My hands are shaking. My eyes are watering. And right now, I don't even know where to start.

I guess, after we left the nurses office, right?

I left first, as to not arouse suspicion if we both showed up at the exact same time, looking that disheveled. But Declan grabbed my hand as soon as we walked through the door, twirling me out and then back into his chest to the sound of some adorable song Sav was singing to a fawning Holly J on stage. "You promised me a dance, remember?" That I had. So I leaned against his chest and let him move me around the dance floor while looking over his shoulder. Fitz walked in a few moments later, and when he saw me dancing with Declan, his eyes narrowed. Behind Declan's back, I put my hands together, forming a small heart with my fingers, and he smiled, descreatly returing the favor. He glanced to the side, raising his eyebrows, then looking at me and gesturing to where he'd glanced. I followed his line of vision and saw Clare and Eli at a table looking like they were fighting. "So is your night going well?" he asked, and I let out a laugh. "I saw the fight earlier. I assume this was all some elaborate scheme to cover up you and Fitzy Boy?"

"Don't you start calling him that too," I said, and watched Clare pat Eli's hand and then walk over to Fitz. They spoke for a second, and when Fitz nodded at me, Clare turned around, gesturing for me to follow them as she grabbed him by the arm and dragged him towards Eli's table. "And it looks like this whole thing is about to get fixed," I said, parting from Declan's chest as the song ended and Sav stepped off stage. "Will you excuse me?" He gave me a sad nod, kissed my hand (I blushed), and I teetered over to where the three of them were standing.

"Okay, we're here," Clare started. "All set for the apology."

"The _what_?" I said, startled. Aparently, I'd missed something. Eli gave a smug look.

"You know, in some places this would be considered blackmail."

"Eli!" I sputtered, laughing, slowly catching onto what was going on. Eli was supposed to apologize to Fitz.

"Stop procrastinating," Clare chastised, giving him a hard look.

"Yeah, Eli, do what the lady says." I quietly stepped on Fitz's toe with my heel, and saw him squint just the tiniest bit as the two glared at each other. Eli, trying to avoid doing the inevitable, looked at Clare, who gave him the same _I'm waiting _look that I did.

"I'm sorry," he finally said in a pissy tone. "For everything."

"That's not gonna do." Clare and I both turned to Fitz, and I almost growled. "You said the words, but I didn't feel them." My hand swatted out, slapping him across the chest.

"You feel that?" Clare and Eli both laughed, and Fitz glared at me.

"Okay, enough!" Clare looked up at him. "Fitz, you got your apology. Now shake hands!" She gestured between the two of them.

"Or," Eli started. "We could toast to a cease fire." My eyes widened, and immediately Fitz and I shared a glance. I gave a stressed look at Clare, who returned it just as enthusiastically, and the three of us looked at Eli. Hesitantly, Fitz took the drink Eli handed him, and they clinked cups.

"Wait!" I said.

"Stop!" Clare called, just as the two of them were about to drink. "Trade cups." The three of us looked at her, confused. "It's an ancient Roman custom." I held my hand to my mouth to keep from smiling at her genius, and Eli shrugged.

"She's the boss." They traded cups. "L'Chaim!" he said, and they both took long sips of their drinks. The second Eli looked over his cup with that smug smile again, I knew something was wrong.

"Oh, God, Eli, you-

But I didn't get to finish my sentence. Because right there, in front of everyone, Mark Fitzgerald puked on my shoes. Yes. He puked. On my shoes. My $3,000 black patent Louboutin's. I let out a shriek, and then looked wide eyed at Eli. "What the _Fuck_?" I screeched at him. Clare glared daggars, and Fitz stood up, his hand over his mouth, and with a seething glance at Eli, ran out. The entire group of people around us was staring, and I slipped out of my shoes, picking them up and looking at Eli.

"What did you _do_?" Clare asked, looking down at my ruined shoes and then back up at Eli.

"You're the one who made us switch."

"Oh don't you _dare_ try to blame this on her," I cut in, almost hitting him with my puke covered shoes.

"Whatever Fitz does to you, you deserve it." I nodded, and as she backed up to leave, I picked up the cup of what Fitz had drank and threw it on Eli's jacket for added effect. His surprised face was enough for me, and I walked out, shoes in hand, in search for Fitz.

I found him in the boys bathroom down the hall. He was still throwing up, coughing over the last stall's toilet. I set my shoes on the sink, and then came up behind him, rubbing circles on his back until he was done. My phone buzzed in my purse, and I checked it as he flushed the toilet. _Jenna got sick at literally the same time. I'm in the dressing room bathroom with her. Where did you go?_ _And have you seen Alli? _I didn't bother responding, just pulled some toilet paper off of the roll and handed it to him as he collapsed against the wall. "You okay?"

"What do you think, Hollie?" His tone set me aback, and I raised an eyebrow at him. "Sorry, sorry. That was uncalled for." I crawled to sit down next to him, and he leaned his head on my shoulder, coughing again as I stroked his head.

"Whatever happens to Eli from now on is none of our concern. He's made it very clear that he's not mature, but please, please don't retaliate for this."

"I don't know what I could do that would make him feel much worse than this," he said, and I leaned over and kissed his forehead, which was slightly damp with sweat. "Can we just get out of here?" I nodded, standing and helping him get up. He looked so weak, so tired. So..un Fitz. I felt so bad, and I hated seeing him like this. But I did think getting him out of the building was probably the best idea for that moment. After washing off my shoes, we both headed out of the bathroom, and stopped by his locker to get his things. Clare, of all people, stepped out of the Gym, and after giving me an odd look, started in on Fitz.

"There you are! Are you okay?"

"Yep," he answered in a monotone voice.

"I should have known that Eli would try to pull something like this. He's always trying to come off as this bad-ass." I laughed at her choice in words, and pulled Fitz's car keys out of his locker, slipping them into my purse. "The worse part is, I fell for him. Guess that makes me a-

"Regular ass?" I swatted Fitz on the arm, and he gave me a dirty look.

"I was gonna say niave, but…" It was then that Clare stopped in her words, looking behind us. There was someone walking down the hallway, and when they came into the light, I almost gasped. It was Tyler. Tyler was walking down the hallway.

"Awh, don't you two look cute," he called down the hall, hitting a locker on his left. "I should have figured this was what was going on the entire time." Fitz and I glanced at each other, and I bit my lip.

"I don't know what you're-

"DON'T GIVE ME THAT BULLSHIT, YOU LITTLE BITCH," he screamed, and punched another locker. "Owen and I have been joking about it since that fucking english project. Kept saying how Fitz needed a good fuck, other than Bianca, and that maybe little goodie two-shoes Peterson would be up for the ride." He looked at the two of us, and then laughed. "I guess she was."

"Don't talk about her like that," Fitz said calmly, stepping in front of me. I pushed him out of the way, and shook my head at Tyler.

"This isn't any of your business, Tyler. None at all."

"What'd you say, whore?" To our horror, out of his pocket he pulled a switch blade, the end of which popped open. I heard Fitz and Clare take in a deep breath at the same time as me. "Not so talkative now, huh?" He dragged his knife along the lockers for a few feet, and the sound made me cringe.

"Clare, go get Simpson. Now." I half whispered, half ordered her to leave, and she slowly backed away, almost running towards the Gym.

"You should have been nicer to me, Little Miss Hollywood. You should have been a good girl and let me ride you when I wanted to." I felt a shiver go down my spine as he got closer, his dark eyes blazing with anger.

"Tyler, please, calm down," Fitz tried to reason, and I heard the butt of the knife slam into the locker.

"Shut the fuck up, Fitz!" Tyler let out a snarl. "You lied to us. You lied to me. About everything." He narrowed his eyes at the two of us, and suddenly I felt colder, my heart beating faster. "And now the two of you are both going to pay."

It all happened in slow motion then. I can see it in my head now. Tyler swinging the blade. Me trying to pull Fitz out of the way. Him stepping in front of me. And then the sound of the knife as it sliced through Fitz's leg.

Everything after that kind of went fast. As Fitz dropped to the ground and Tyler lunged towards me, Owen came out of the door behind him and tackled him to the floor. At the same time, the fire alarm went off, and I heard screams from the Gym as water sprayed out into the hallway from the sprinklers, followed by a crowd of screaming girls running towards the door. The first person to come towards our group was Clare. I sat with Fitz strewn across my lap, my hand putting pressure on his leg. Owen had Tyler in an Armlock, and was dragging his ass outside, with the assistance of Riley and Zane. Clare pushed some hair out of Fitz's eyes, which were blinking spratically as he looked up at me. "Just keep some pressure on that. I'm sure the cops are…" she trailed off, her gaze down the hallway. "Already here?" Clare stood, jogging down the hallway.

I was shaking. My entire body felt like it was going to collapse. And through the screams of students exiting the gym, I could hear my own crying, sobbing as I held my hand to Fitz's leg, trying to stop the bleeding. Someone came up next to me, and I looked to see the police officer. "We called for backup, but the ambulance is stuck in traffic. I can take your friend here faster than it would be for them to get here." I gave a nod, and she seemed to look around for help. Adam, trying to help get everyone out, standing by the door, jogged over.

"Need help?" The officer nodded, and he looked down at me. "Do you want me to go with them?" he asked, and I met his eye for a split second. And in that second, I knew he knew. I knew he'd figured it out. He'd realized why I was crying, why I cared so much. He knew that Fitz and I were together.

"Please," I coughed out, and he nodded silently before helping her carry him out the door.

"You should get out too!" Adam yelled over his shoulder, but I barely heard him over the sound of the alarms and the door slamming behind him. Owen was standing outside, and I saw him help them carry him the rest of the way to the car. I still sat against the wall, trying to understand what had just happened. Tyler had stabbed Fitz. Tyler, stabbed Fitz. Tyler stabbed Fitz because I wouldn't put up with his flirting. And suddenly, I was filled with anger. Tyler was sitting outside, handcuffed in the back of a cop car, while the rest of the damp student body sat aside chattering. This teenage boy, now looking sickly and sad, had just stabbed my boyfriend not minutes before. And now, he looked like he wanted some sort of sympathy. Regret flitted across his face. I stood, about to head for the door, when I glanced back into the Gym and saw Clare and Declan ushering the last people out of the corners of the room.

_Fuck_, I thought, stopping in my tracks. _Jenna's still in the dressing room_. My eyes widened, and I turned, fighting against the crowd to get back in. Clare looked at me from the door, and I called "JENNA!" over my shoulder. She nodded and waved me towards the stage. The sprinklers immediately matted the hair around my face to my head, and I pushed it out of my eyes, kicking off my heels and jumping onto stage, where there was less water flowing from the sprinklers. When I made it to the dressing rooms, there was no more water coming out, but you could still hear the fire alarms. Jenna was still bent over one of the toilets in the girls room when I went in, and she saw me, her eyes widening, wiping her mouth with toilet paper.

"Hollie? What's going on-I heard the alarms." I wiped under my eyes, the tears streaming down my face mixing with the water dripping from my hair.

"It's Tyler-he-he brought a knife." My voice was cut with a sob, and I leaned against the stall, trying to catch my breath. "Let's just go. I'll explain it when we get out of here." She grabbed more toilet paper and her wristlet on the back of the toilet, and we walked out. The water had stopped, but the alarm was still sounding. We got through the curtains only to see Clare and Declan standing in front of the doors, which were now closed. "WHAT'S GOING ON?" I yelled over the sound of the alarm. Neither of them turned around, so I yelled it louder. After the second time, Clare turned around, seeming to hear me.

"OH, HEY. THE FLOOR LOCKED." I furrowed my brow.

"THE WHAT?"

"THE DOOR LOCKED." My eyes widened, and I leaned in closer, trying to get her to hear me.

"ARE YOU SERIOUS?"

"WHAT?" I pursed my lips, and leaned in closer.

"TURN OFF THE DAMN ALARM." She got that just perfectly. She walked back over to the fire alarm and pulled the lever back down, pressing the lock button in the middle. The alarm stopped sounding almost immediately, and it felt oddly quiet in the large, empty gym, filled with now water drowned poker tables and a ruined sound system. "The door locked?" I gave Clare and Declan a questioning look, and they both nodded.

"I think the water must have tripped the emergency locks," Declan said, cradling his head with his hand. "We were about to walk out and they slammed closed on us." I glanced around the room. There were no other doors that I could see.

"'Course." I shook my head, and let go of Jenna's arm to rub my temple, a headache washing over me. "Could this night get any worse?"

"What happened exactly?" Declan asked, crossing his arms. "I could have sworn I saw Tyler Mayfield being dragged out by Owen and Riley, of all the pairs." I norrowed my eyes, and then squeezed them shut, trying to keep from crying. Jenna gave my hand a squeeze.

"Tyler came back with a knife," I said with a snarl. "He's why that cop was here in the first place; from earlier tonight. I guess she was busy or something…because when Fitz and I were in the hallway talking, he managed to get back in." Jenna gasped next to me, and I shut my eyes again.

"I was there at first," Clare stepped in, and put an arm around my shoulders. "Fitz was trying to reason with him-he was babbling. Hollie told me to get help, and I couldn't find Simpson, so I had Adam call 911 and then pulled the fire alarm."

"The cop came out then-she saw Fitz on the floor, and then Tyler with the knife." I was still shaking as I spoke, and I leaned closer into Clare for support. "Owen tackled him and the two of us ran back in here to get everyone out."

"Is Fitz okay?" Jenna asked. I closed my eyes, taking in a deep, ragged breath.

"Last we saw him, he was getting carried out by the cop and Adam. The cut was pretty deep." Clare gave my shoulder a squeeze, and I looked down at the floor, my eyes flooding again.

"Why don't we try to get out of here, okay?" Declan spoke again, and I looked at him for a long minute before nodding. My mind was still foggy-I didn't know if I could think straight, much less walk straight. But the four of us, all looking tired and slightly soggy, tried every possible exit, from the back door in the tech rooms behind the stage, to the windows along the corners of the offices of the theatre teachers. Nothing would open. Adam sent a text a few minutes later, saying they had arrived at the hospital and Fitz was rushed into surgery to close up the wound, but because he wasn't family, he couldn't go in. _Did they call his mom_?

_I think so. I gave the nurse his name and they fished his phone out of his pocket when they undressed him. Are you on your way?_

_We're locked in the gym. Clare texted Eli to tell Simpson and my mom, but let Andrea know I'll be there ASAP. _I felt myself involuntarily shudder, and pinched the bridge of my nose as I leaned against a ladder sitting against a wall in the back of the tech room. _You will not cry, Hollie. Do you get that? You WILL not cry. Not in front of them. _

"He's going to be fine," Declan said suddenly, and my eyes shot open, and then narrowed again in a glare. He understood what I meant immediately, and pursed his lips, looking away.

"Of course he will be!" Clare assured me, patting me on the back. "That officer probably got him there really quick, and it didn't look too bad." She and Declan shared a glance, and I shook my head.

"It was a nice try, Clare, but-

"Guys, look at this!" Jenna interrupted, and we turned to see her near a hatch next to the door to the wardrobe closet. It was large, close to the floor, and when she opened it, a light popped on. She stuck her head in, and looked down. "I think it goes down to the basement laundry room." I walked over and looked down, realizing that on the wall closest to us, there was a ladder.

"We can get out from there-I think there's a back flight of stairs up to the roof from down there." We all looked at Clare, eyebrows raised, and she shrugged. "It's where KC and I got locked Freshman year." I let out an involuntary shudder at the idea of them being locked anywhere together, and then looked back at the hatch.

"Well, there's only one way to find out." Declan was the first to go, being the male and all. Once he was down, he called out from down the hatch.

"There's not much light down here, but you can kind of see. Jenna, you next!" Clare and I helped her in, and she slowly waddled down the ladder and into Declan's awaiting arms at the bottom. I made Clare go next-I didn't want her watching me from the top if I teared up again. When I finally got down, I threw my shoes and bag down to them, and sped climbed, jumping the remaining few feet with the grace of a jungle monkey. "Where the fuck did that come from? Usually you would have tripped the last few feet." I gave him a glare as I threw my shoes back on and checked my phone.

_Eli: Simpson called an emergency crew but it's going to be a while before they can make it into the school. The water did some damage to the security system._

_Well no shit, Sherlock. We're already on our way out. _

_Adam: Have you guys seen Drew? Mom's calling me, freaking out._

_No. We're still stuck in school._

"I'm upset-no, I'm pissed off. I'm tired. I'm hungry. And I just want to get out of this fucking school and make sure Fitz is-

"HELLO?" There was a call from a door to our left, and all of our heads turned. Clare and I met each others gazes for a few seconds. _Was that…_

"Alli?" Clare called out, walking to the door the scream came from.

"Clare, is that you?" That was definitely Alli's voice. "We've been stuck in here for like, twenty minutes. I don't know what happened-

"We'll tell you when we get you out. Just hold on!" Clare looked at Declan, who walked up to the door and yanked on it a few times. Nothing happened, and he looked back at us and shrugged.

"Oh, come on." I glanced around, looking for some sort of tool, and managed to find a crowbar hanging next to a set of keys on the wall. I gave Declan the crowbar with a pointed glare, and he rolled his eyes before wedging it into the door and pushing at it with a frustrated groan. With a crack and a snap, the door busted open, and a discheveled looking Alli came running out, and into Clare's arms. She immediately started crying, and I was confused, until a pissed off Drew sauntered out of the door behind her.

"What were you two doing in _there_?"

"Don't ask!" Alli sobbed into Clare's shoulder, and I gave Drew a confused look, to which he shrugged and just rubbed the back of his neck. "Can we just get out of here please?" Declan made a sarcastic comment under his breath, and I glared at him before looking around, trying to locate a way out. The only thing I saw was…an elevator?

"Declan, grab me those keys!" I said, and he ripped the keys off the wall and threw them in my direction. I snatched them out of the air and turned back to the elevator, covered by a gate closed by a padlock. I fiddled with the keys unitl I found one that fit, noticing my hands were still shaking, and managed to get the padlock open. "Since there's no staircase, this seems to be the only way up." I stepped inside and heard the floor creek. "Come on!" I gestured for the rest of them to come into the Elevator, and Clare raised an eyebrow but walked a shaking Alli towards us. With a shared glance, the buys got in, and I pressed the up button as Declan closed the gate back up. With a rickety sound and a groan, the elevator slowly started to move up.

_You show the lights that stop me turn to stone, you shine them when I'm-_

"Hello?"

"Hollie? Where are you? Are you okay?" My mother's worried voice came through my phone as the display on the elevator read 2.

"We're in an elevator inside of school. I think we figured out a way-

"Andrea's on her way to the hospital. She just called. Fitz, Hollie, I'm so sorry, Fitz got hurt and-

"I know, I know Mom. I was there." The elevator came to a screeching hault, and the rest of the people with me steadied themselves. Drew opened the gate, and there was another set of double doors, which he twisted open. A blast of cold air rushed in, and Clare let out a sigh of relief. "We're on the roof!" I said, stepping out. "Mom, we're on the roof!" I stepped out of the elevator, sliding off my shoes and taking them in my hand with my bag, tip toeing across the gravel floor and towards the edge of the roof. The rest of the group came up below us, and you could see flashing lights from cop cars and ambulances lining nearly the entire parking lot. I saw a figure waving off to the side, and realized it was my mother, who I waved back at.

"I see you!" she called out, and I felt my body relax. For the first time since things had started going downhill, they were finally going right.

The second we made it down the ladder on the side of the building, I was thrown under a blanket and into the back of an ambulance. "I'm fine, I'm fine!" I called, looking over at Jenna, who was in the ambulance across from me. "If anything, she needs the attention. All this stress can't be good for the baby." The lady taking my blood pressure rolled her eyes.

"You're probably right, Ms. Peterson, but we have to do all of this. It's just a precaution. We're taking Ms. Middleton to the hospital to check on the baby, if you'd like, you can ride with her there. I know you're probably anxious to get there anyway." I looked at the woman in front of me, and realized I'd been babbling about how worried I was about Fitz the entire time she'd been checking on me. "If it's any consolation, I hope he's okay." With a smile, she walked me over to sit with Jenna on a stretcher in the back of the ambulance.

"We'll meet you there!" Clare called over one of the paramedic's shoulders. She and Eli were sitting next to each other on Morty's hood, with Declan leaning against the driver's side door. And when the paramedic shut the doors on us, I broke down again. What a night. What a god aweful, horrible night.

The second we braked into the hospital turn in and the paramedic opened the door, Jenna pushed me half out. "Go find him," she said with an eyebrow raise. I'd flat out told her on the way there-between sobs and gasps, I'd told her that Fitz and I were dating, and she just nodded and rubbed my back, like I was the one on the way to be checked out at the hospital. And that's when I noticed them. The paparazzi sitting on the benches on either side of the emergency room door. With a kick of my heels, I picked up my shoes, gave a small smile at Jenna, and made a run for the sliding doors. Nurses gave me crazy looks from inside and the cameras started flashing, voices pushing at me from both sides. "HOLLIE! HOLLIE, IS EVERYTHING OKAY?" One of them tried to follow me in, but a male nurse, with a stern look, grabbed them by the arm and walked them back out. I have to remember to send him some sort of thank you. Without even stopping, I walked up to the front desk.

"I need to know what's going on with Mark Fitzgerald," I said hastily, leaning against the counter and trying to catch my breath. I probably looked crazy, with matted hair and makeup running down my face, carrying my shoes in my hands. But I didn't care. I was in the same building as Fitz-I was close to him. And that's all I cared about. The young nurse behind the counter looked at me with a raised eyebrow, but when her eyes widened and she realized who I was, she spoke.

"I'm sorry, Miss, but-

"Hollie!" I heard Adam's voice, and turned towards it. He stood up, and next to him in the chairs I saw Andrea and Ben, both looking worse for wear. Adam ran towards me, pulling me into a tight hug, which is just what I needed. When he pulled back, he looked me in the eyes. "Fitz is in surgery. Tyler cut pretty deep, so they're trying to…" My eyes were welling up, and when he saw that, he stopped, taking me by the hand and directing me towards Andrea, who was now standing with her arms open. I fell into them, and we sat down, both too upset and tearful to even talk. It took about half an hour for the waterworks to stop.

"I'm sure he's going to be fine," Andrea said, wiping at her eyes and then at mine. I took a deep breath, letting out a gurgle and sniffling. Adam reached over to the table next to us and pulled some tissues out of a box, handing them to us. "The doctor said we should know something within the hour." There was the click of heels behind me, and I turned to see my mother, holding one of my large Dooney duffels close to her chest, and talking into her Bluetooth.

"Just do damage control until I can get an official statement out to Arianna. No, she hasn't mentioned anything yet. But she's a Huffington-she'll…" She stopped when she saw me, and her eyes widened. "I have to go. I'll call you back in a little while." She pressed the screen of her phone and crouched down in front of me, an impressive feat in 5 inch pumps. "Are you okay?" I shrugged, staring at a tile to her right and avoiding eye contact. She looked to Andrea. "What do we know?"

"He's in surgery, we should know something more soon." I shook my head, leaning against Adam again. The images of Tyler, of all the blood, they were flashing in my head, replaying like some bad commercial. That's when mom put the bag in my lap.

"I brought this for you." She turned to Adam. "Will you walk her to the bathroom? Make sure she's okay?" He nodded and helped me up, and I felt feeble and shakey. I still don't know why-just the night's effect on my body. When I got into the bathroom and looked inside the bag, I sighed in relief. If there was one thing my mom knew, it was what I needed and when I needed it. Sure, she could be completely oblivious to my feelings or the idea that I am, in fact, a human being, and not her puppet, but she had my routine down. And when I'm upset, all I want is my Sober is Sexy sweatshirt, my fluffy blanket and a bottle of Diet Coke. That's exactly what was in the bag. I slipped out of the dress and into the comfy bra and sweatshirt she'd packed, put the jeans and TOMS on, wrapped my blanket around my shoulders, and met Adam outside.

"Thanks," I said as he took the bag with my stuff from my hands. He shrugged, looking down at the floor as we walked. "You can ask me, you know." He looked up, eyebrows raised, and then, realizing what I was talking about, let out a deep breath.

"It didn't feel like quite the right time." Adam looped his arm through mine, squeezing it tight, and glanced down at me as we walked. "How long have you two been together?" I let out a laugh, scratching my head. I'd looked in the mirror in the bathroom briefly and decided that the drowned raccoon look suited me. All I did was swipe away at some of the eyeliner dripping down my face and I looked just messy enough.

"That's a really complicated answer." He laughed back, and I sighed, thinking it all over in my head. "We've been friends since the week I started."

"But you kicked his ass! Literally!" I giggled, shrugging as we rounded a corner.

"He redeemed himself. We went on our first date at the start of last month. And we've been an actual couple since the fourth." Adam gave a nod, and I kind of wanted to yell WHY ARE YOU NOT FREAKING OUT?

"I'm not going to ask why, because I can see the reasons you two work. And I'm not going to say everything that I think, because right now is not an appropriate time." I smiled at him for that. "But I've seen the difference in him since you got here. It's been gradual, but there's a difference. And you've been ridiculously happy the last couple of weeks, and now I finally know why." I didn't get the chance to respond to his words because when we turned the next corner, Owen was leaning against a wall, and his eyes widened when he saw me.

"Hollie!" He walked up, looking adamant. "Is he okay? I just got here." I took a deep breath and separated from Adam, who was steadily glaring at Owen.

"He's in surgery, we don't know anything yet." He cradled his head in his hands, and I put a hand on his shoulder. "I think we need to talk." I looked back at Adam, who rolled his eyes in the most unsympathetic way ever.

"I'll take your stuff back to your mom." One of the nurses showed us to the back entrance, where the Employees go to smoke and the ambulances wait for calls. Without hesitation, Owen pulled out a pack of Black & Milds and a lighter, offering me one. I don't really know why I did it, but I took one, letting him light it for me as I held it between my shaking fingers. It took me a few puffs to get used to the taste again. I used to smoke a lot with Marcie when I was still on the party scene. My brother used to leave packs lying around that we would pilfer and smoke in the VIP rooms. But it's been almost a year since I've touched anything smokable, and I almost cough on the first drag.

"Never took you for a smoker," Owen said, and I shrugged, leaning against the back of the bench we'd found and crossing my legs.

"You didn't take me for a drinker either, but I proved you wrong on that one, too." He let out a laugh, and I smiled, blowing smoke out.

"So, tonight, it's been…"

"Fucking insane?" He laughed again, and I shrugged. "I just wish Fitz hadn't been the one to get hurt."

"If I understand what Clare told me correctly, he was trying to protect you." I let out a laugh.

"Everyone thinks they're protecting me. But in reality, all they're doing is putting themselves in harms way. I always wind up hurt, one way or another." I cradled my forehead, dusting ash over the edge of the bench. "Look at this, Fitz is in surgery, Tyler's probably going to jail…" I shook my head, reveling in the craziness of the night. I still felt sick-physically ill over the idea that this boy was laying on a surgery table somewhere for me. Because one of his asshole "friends" decided he didn't like the idea of us as a couple.

"He really must like you," Owen muttered, ashing onto the concrete. "I've never known him to be secretive about anything, much less any action he was getting."

"We aren't just sleeping together, Owen," I spat, throwing the bud of my cigarette into the dirt and standing to stomp it out. "Hell, we haven't even had sex." Owen looked slightly surprised, which worried me momentarily. "He's a different person around me, you know. I don't know what it is about being with you guys, you and Tyler, but it turns him into a dick." Hurt flashed across his face, and I backtracked. "I'm not saying it's you guys. There's other things going on. But he feels this need to be macho around you guys. Around me, he's different. He's like he is with his mom. Sweet and funny and just a good guy. I've told him time and time again that if he just acted like that all the time maybe people wouldn't hate him so much."

"I've seen that side of him," Owen says smugly, flicking the stub left of his cigarette into the street. "Just one or two times. Mostly when he's dealing with his sister or mom." He pulls out his phone, reading over the screen. "I didn't know Tyler would snap like that."

"No one could." I shrugged. "But now all we can do is hope that he'll be okay." When we got inside, we found Adam sitting with my mom in the waiting room. He wordlessly pointed down the hall, where I saw Andrea, Ben and Owen of all people were standing with a woman in a white lab coat with a clipboard. I took off nearly running towards them, and when I got there, Andrea threw her arm around me.

"He's okay!" she cried, pulling me into her chest. "He's okay!" I hugged her back and turned to look at the doctor in front of us.

"Mark is out of surgery. We stitched him up and he should be fine. He'll be out of it for a few hours, anesthesia and all, but he should be lucid enough to talk by morning." Andrea and I looked at each other, and I swear, the smile on her face was going to split her lips. Owen looked just as happy, grasping his hands in front of his face, and then turning to pull out his cell phone, presumably to call Bianca and whoever else might care that Fitz is okay. My mother rounded the corner then, just getting off her cell phone.

"He's okay, Mom," I said, and her eyes widened as she walked towards us, her arm coming around to cover Andrea's on my shoulder. "He's going to be okay."

**What'd y'all think? I think it was quite climactic. And the steamy Follie action? That was embarrassing to write, but much fun!**

**Let me know! XOXO Holly**


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